China-based coronavirus emerged and spread rapidly around the world, has increased its influence in Turkey. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced a 19-item package of measures against the coronavirus on social issues, particularly on the economy. There have been criticisms of the public regarding the measure package that agriculture and small businesses have been forgotten. Sabri Tekir, Deputy Chairman of the Felicity Party, made a 7-point proposal regarding the areas to be included in the measure package.
MEASURES STAY WEAK AGAINST EU AND US MEASURES
Pointing out that the 100 billion TL measure package announced by the government within the scope of combating the coronavirus epidemic corresponds to 14.2 billion dollars, Tekir emphasized that when the amount announced is evaluated in the population size, it is less than the measures packages taken in countries such as the EU and the USA. Tekir, who stated that more additional measures should be taken, as a matter of fact, "the USA developed 850 billion dollars, Germany 614 billion euro, France 300 billion euro and Spain 200 billion euro epidemic package. In addition, EU Finance Ministers stated that they could spend an amount corresponding to 1 percent of EU Gross Domestic Product. In fact, Lagarde, the President of the EU Central Bank, stated that "Extraordinary actions are required in extraordinary times," and that they will use the opportunities of the EU Central Bank to the full," he said.
THE US APPLIED THESE METHODS IN THE 2009 CRISIS
Drawing attention to the measures taken against the coronavirus in the world, Tekir continued as follows:
"In the USA, the American Central Bank has re-activated the method that allows companies to give money directly, as it did in 2007- 2009, with the idea that it would provide great convenience in maintaining the production process in order to remove the congestion in credit markets."
Agriculture should never be neglected
Stating that the direction of agricultural production is weak in the measure package, Tekir underlined that agriculture should never be neglected in such extraordinary periods. People's mandatory food needs but met with agricultural production and agro-industries that expresses mullet, Turkey, noted that one of the luckiest countries in this regard.
Tekir pointed out that the following measures should be added to the emergency support package in order to prevent disruption of agricultural production.
1. Postponing loan payments of farmers and tradesmen. Increasing loan terms to a reasonable level and restructuring interest rates into loans with low (even 0%) interest rates.
2. To halt the transactions of farmers and tradesmen to the executive stage.
3. To stop the high interest rate practices applied to the default transactions of the Agricultural and Credit Cooperatives and to turn them into an application that will ease the farmers.
4. Providing seed, fuel and medicine support with a 0% interest in planting the land of farmers. Thus, to ensure the cultivation of land that has not been planted recently and to encourage agricultural cultivation. Because, in such times of crisis, especially agricultural production and food industry must work at full capacity. This is necessary to overcome the crisis with less damage.
5. It is important to give priority to meeting the basic basic needs such as food and health, especially in times of crisis such as when people close to their homes, it will not be beneficial to reduce the amount of down payment from 20% to 10% in real estate sales.
6. In addition, in order to minimize employee dismissals, it is useful to provide support under the name of “labor credit” to those who continue their activities without employing workers in SMEs and employ additional workers.
7. In addition, in the periods when our people do not go out on the streets, the two-month reset of the communication taxes will provide an important psychological and economic contribution in the fight against the epidemic so that they can communicate with everyone more comfortably and avoid the indoor syndrome. At least it will provide comfort by speaking.