Agriculture
ATATÜRK DECLARES!
Agriculture
Our people experienced many sufferings, defeats, disasters. But we still live
on this land and there is one main reason for that: Because Turkish farmers,
while fighting with their swords in one hand, kept on plowing their land which
they never left with the other. If the majority of our nation wasn’t farmers, we
wouldn’t exist in this world today. 1923 ( Atatürk’s S. D. II, p. 117 )
The real owner and master of Türkiye are the farmers who are the real
producers. So, it is the farmers who deserve and have a right to more
prosperity, welfare and wealth than anyone else.
Gentlemen! Our people consists of farmers. We must take economic measures to
increase the efforts in the farming sector to the limit. Increasing the output
of the farming sector to the limit for the farmer’s own benefit is the
cornerstone of our economic policy. 1922 ( Atatürk’s S. D. II, p. 219 )
The country and the nation can not develop unless we promote the farmers to
the rank of “ Masters” . ( Mahmut Esat Bozkurt, Memoirs From His Close
Acquaintances p. 94 )
An arm that fights with a sword gets tired and as soon as it puts the sword
back in its sheath, it is most probably doomed to get rusty and moldy. But an
arm that uses a plow gets stronger each day and with more strength it gets more
land. ( 1923 )
The foundation of the national economy is agriculture. For that reason we
consider it most important to progress in agriculture. Planned training and
applied studies that spread down to the small villages will help us reach this
goal.
But to reach the goal in this vital matter, first we must designate an
agriculture policy based on comprehensive research for which we must create an
agriculture regime that every single farmer and citizen can easily comprehend
and willingly apply. Main points of such a policy and regime could be as
follows:
First of all, there shouldn’t be any farmer left without land in the country.
The size of large land farmers and large farm owners are allowed to run must be
limited on basis of the population density and the level of soil fertility in
the area. ( 1937 )
If the majority of our nation wasn’t farmers, we wouldn’t exist in this world
today. ( March 1928 )
Our people consists of farmers. We must take economic measures to increase
the efforts in the farming sector to the limit. Increasing the output of the
farming sector to the limit for farmer’s own benefit is the cornerstone of our
economic policy.
Since this is the case, we must make every effort to use and produce
machinery and scientific instruments that will increase the output and
productivity of farmers, and to take economic measures to assure maximum benefit
from it. ( 1922 )
Transportation and Development
Everywhere, farmers and citizens have reminded me of the work program with
these two words:
Roads – schools. Since they said: “ Roads are the wings of farmers “, it is
obvious that they consider roads more important than anything. Indeed, all
economy is in the first, and everything is in the second word. 1934
(Atatürk'ün S.D. II,
S. 193 - 194)
The vigor and dynamism of the economic life is in proportion with the quality
and quantity of the transportation means, roads, trains, seaports. 1922 (
Atatürk’s S. D. I, p. 221 )
We must form a network of railways and well designed roads on which cars run
in our country. Because cars and trains are the vehicles the west and the world
use and it is simply impossible to compete with them riding donkeys on natural
trails. 1923 ( Atatürk’s S. D. II, p. 111 )
Railways are sacred torches that brighten a country with the light of
civilization and prosperity. 1937 ( Atatürk’s K. A. N., p. 20 )
The main elements of economic development, in other words roads, railways,
seaports, land and sea transportation vessels, are the physical and political
blood veins of the nation’s presence. 1930 ( Afet İnan, About Atatürk H. B., p.
266 )
Civilization
There are many people who define civilization in various ways. In my opinion,
it is rather difficult and unnecessary to distinguish civilization from culture.
In order to explain what I mean, let me describe culture:
It is the result of the efforts of a society in a) governmental affairs; b)
intellectual affairs e. g. in science, sociology and fine arts; c) economic
affairs e. g. in agriculture, crafts, trade, land – air – sea transportation.
When one says “ civilization of a nation “ , I think it cannot be anything
else but the result of the efforts in three fields I mentioned when describing
culture. Undoubtedly, the civilization level of all the societies cannot be the
same. Such differences can be observed separately in the governmental,
intellectual and economic affairs as well as in the collective result of all
three. The important one is the difference in results. A superior culture
doesn’t stay in the country where the nation that owns it live, but spreads to
other continents and effects other nations. Maybe that is why some nations are
call superior and effective culture “ Civilization “. 1930 ( Afet İnan, About
Atatürk B. H., p. 267 )
Civilization can not come to terms with cruelty. Incompetence can not be
something praiseworthy. Because nations do not inhabit their lands only as the
true owners, but also as the representatives of humanity. They benefit from the
sources of the land, so they are responsible to make them available for the
benefit of whole humanity too. According to this principle, the nations that are
incapable of doing so, do not have the right to independence nor do they have
the right to exist. 1920 ( The Oration III, p. 1182)
Trying to resist against the wild flood of civilization is useless and this
flood is so merciless on the unwary and disobedient ones. The nations that
attempt to go on with an obsolete mentality and primitive fabricated myths are
doomed to be wiped out, or at least to slavery and inferiority against the power
and capacity of the civilization that bores the mountains, flies in the sky,
sees, illuminates and researches everything from unseeable atoms to the stars.
But the people of the Republic of Türkiye has smashed the chains of slavery to
bits in a manner of heroism that history has never seen and decided to exist
forever as a mature body. 1925 ( Mustafa Selim İmece, Atatürk’s S. D. K. And I.
S., p. 47 )
I always believe that the ones who wish to live humanely in this world must
find in them the determination and quality of being human ... They must be
willing to sacrifice anything for this cause. Otherwise no civilized nation
would want to be on the same line with them.
1926 (Falih Rıfkı
Atay, Atatürk'ün B.A., S. 99-100)
As you know, the value of a society’s presence, and its right to freedom and
independence are in proportion with the civilized works it has produced and will
produce. Societies that lack the capability of producing “ civilized “ works are
doomed to lose their freedom and independence. To walk on the road to
civilization and to succeed is the necessity of life. The ones that are so
ignorant and imprudent as to look backward instead of forward on this road are
doomed to drown in the wild flood of civilization. 1924 ( Atatürk’s B. N., p. 85
)
On the road to civilization, success depends on renovation. This is the only
way of maturation and progress in the social life and in the fields of economy
and science. It is inevitable for the rules that direct the life to change and
develop in time. In an age when the ambition of civilization and the wonders of
science continuously change the world, it is impossible to keep on existing
through age old obsolete mentalities and longing for the past. Since we talk
about civilization, I must stress that the essence of civilization, and the
source of power and progress are in the family life. Bad quality in family life
will surely cause social, economic and political weakness. The male and female
elements that constitute the family must have their natural rights and must be
competent to carry out their duties to the family. 1924 ( Atatürk’s B. N., p. 85
)
The ability of walking fast and successfully on the road to civilization of a
nation that has the power and competence to prove its merit and independence
should be acknowledged. But the inbred customs and practices, emotions and
beliefs of a society are important. So, societies has an almost commanding and
dominating effect over the initiators ( of reforms ). But the nations whose
capacity and competence have reached a high level of progress and development
never run late in compensating the delays caused by the opportunities missed in
the past, under the guidance of their enlightened sons who have been inspired
and influenced by the progress in civilization. 1928 ( Atatürk’s S. D. II, p.
249 )
Today’s Turkish nation, descendants of the Turkish race that claims to have
formed the greatest civilizations of the past have found the clearest and the
most reliable path to follow. 1930 ( Things I’ve Seen, Things I’ve Heard, My
Feelings, p. 141 )
The nation will definitely be modern, civilized and brand new. For us this is
a matter of life and death. Whether our sacrifices bear fruit depends on this.
Türkiye either will be governed with new ideas and honorably or shall not be at
all. I am in close contact with the people. You do not know how much those
simple people are in favor of renewal.
(1923 Atatürk'ün
S.D. III., S.60)
We want to modernize our country. All our efforts are devoted to form a
modern, in other words, an occidental government. Is there any country that
wants to reach the civilization and doesn’t head towards west? What would a man
who wants to walk towards a direction but can’t because of the chains that tie
his feet? He would break the chains and walk. 1923 ( Atatürk’s S. D. III., p. 60
)