Zeybek calls for five-year plan to protect İskeçe’s basma tobacco
İskeçe Independent MP Hüseyin Zeybek has called for a dedicated five-year plan to safeguard the future of traditional basma tobacco production, warning that the sharp decline in tobacco cultivation is threatening the rural economy and population of İskeçe’s mountainous areas.
In a parliamentary question submitted to the Minister of Rural Development and Food, Zeybek highlighted the dramatic contraction of tobacco production across Greece and called for concrete measures to prevent further decline.
Tobacco cultivation area falls by more than 73%
According to OSDE data cited in the ministry’s response dated July 16, 2026, the total area devoted to tobacco cultivation in Greece fell from 17,834 hectares in 2016 to 4,768 hectares in 2025.
This represents a 73.3% decline in cultivated area over nine years.
The number of tobacco producers has also fallen sharply. The number of producers dropped from 11,738 in 2020 to 4,177 in 2025, representing a decline of almost two-thirds.
The ministry has described the development as a “structural and long-term decline” accompanied by the gradual abandonment of tobacco production.
Rising costs and labor shortages threaten production
Zeybek attributed the difficulties facing tobacco farmers to several factors, including rising production costs, changes in agricultural support policies, labor shortages and increasingly challenging climate conditions.
He argued that existing policies have failed to halt the sector’s decline and that a more targeted approach is required to preserve basma tobacco production, particularly in the mountainous parts of İskeçe.
Call for a five-year basma tobacco strategy
Zeybek emphasized that basma tobacco is more than an agricultural product for İskeçe’s mountainous communities. He said its continued production is closely linked to employment, farmers’ incomes, population retention and the sustainability of the rural economy.
He asked the government whether it intends to introduce a dedicated five-year plan for basma tobacco, with measurable targets covering:
- Protection of cultivated areas
- Increasing producer incomes
- Reducing production costs
- Addressing labor shortages
- Improving water efficiency
- Adapting production to climate change
- Increasing product quality and added value
The MP also called for a broader rural development strategy aimed at protecting agricultural production and community life in İskeçe’s mountainous areas.
Questions over support policies and the future of the sector
Among Zeybek’s questions to the government were what concrete results have been achieved through support measures introduced in recent years, whether a specific plan for basma tobacco will be developed, and what steps will be taken to improve the product’s quality, certification, traceability and added value.
Zeybek stressed that the future of basma tobacco should not be viewed solely as an agricultural policy issue, arguing that the survival of the sector is also directly connected to the economic and demographic future of İskeçe’s rural and mountainous communities.
