Livestock Support and Water Depletion in Turkey

Turkey serves as an important food hub for neighboring countries in the water-scarce Middle East and North African region, and self-sufficiency in agri-food production is one of the country's major policy objectives. The Turkish government had therefore introduced various support measures for its inefficient livestock sector, including payments for irrigated fodder crops, which are likely to increase water depletion. To simultaneously assess the economic and environmental effects of these policies, we link an economy-wide computable general equilibrium model of Turkey to a newly developed water footprint module. We find that removal of direct livestock support may not lead to large water savings, but may instead redirect irrigation water to higher value crops. Conversely, removal of fodder subsidies and overall efficiency improvements in livestock can lead to overall water savings and net economic gains.