POLATLI, Turkey — Spring is in full swing in the sprawling, fertile fields of Polatli, not far from Turkey’s capital, Ankara. But the bright sky and the riot of green belie the gloom of local farmers as they grapple with skyrocketing costs that have forced many to leave their croplands unsown.

Polatli has been one of Turkey’s main onion-producing and exporting regions for years. But it might fail to live up to its potential this year. Murat Bircan, a local farmer, said his production cost had soared by more than 300%, reaching 2.5 Turkish liras per kilogram of onion, up from 0.6 liras last year. “I’ve reduced fertilizers by a fourth compared to last year. I used to plow the land twice; now I do it once. Naturally, all this will affect the produce,” Bircan told Al-Monitor.

Such grievances are rife among farmers across Turkey, whose currency has fallen dramatically since 2018, amplifying the cost of imports and fueling inflation. The government’s controversial economic policies are primarily blamed for the slump of the lira, which lost more than 40% of its value against the dollar in 2021 alone. The commodity shocks of the COVID-19 pandemic and now Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have only aggravated the woes of the Turkish economy, which relies heavily on imports, especially in terms of energy. Turkey’s annual consumer inflation hit a two-decade high of 61.1% in March, with food inflation topping 70%. The price of diesel — a crucial material used by farmers — rose by 32% in March alone. Annual producer inflation, meanwhile, hit nearly 115%.

The rising costs come atop long-running structural problems in the country’s agricultural sector, including a growing reliance on imported materials to make fodder and fertilizers and a flawed chain from the farm gate to the consumer, in which middlemen make exorbitant profits.