Opinions and practices of Turkish producers on the use of chemical inputs: The case of Yuregir plain-Turkey

The use of hybrid seeds, chemical fertilizers and pesticides in intensive farming became widespread after the Green Revolution. While it generated increased productivity in the short term, intensive farming has caused negative effects on human and environmental health in the long run. As a result, sustainable farming has been proposed as an alternative to intensive farming even though intensive farming practices continue to be dominant among producers as a form of production. In this study, face-to-face interviews were conducted on 114 farmers in Yuregir Plain, Adana province, Turkey. For data analysis, chi-square statistic in SPPS software was used. The results of the study showed that 67.5% of producers favoured the use of excessive amounts of chemical fertilizers which damages the soil, while 86.8% favoured the use of excessive amounts of chemical pesticides which damages human and environment health. The chisquare independence test did not reveal any correlation between the opinions of producers on the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides and the use of chemical inputs. This study therefore highlights that producers' awareness about the negative impact of using excessive chemical inputs on human and environmental health do not prevent them from continuing intensive agricultural production with chemical inputs. © by PSP

Gender analysis in agricultural enterprises producingearly potatoes in the adana province of Turkey

Given gender, there exists an unequal social structure between women and men related to education, division of labour, occupation structure etc. This discrimination is rather sharp especially for women working in the agricultural sector and the agricultural enterprises in Turkey, which produce early potatoes, which can be taken as a good example for this paper. In this study, the gender structure in the enterprises in Adana, producing early potatoes was analysed in terms of the owner of the enterprise and his wife and women working as agricultural workers and their spouses. The data was obtained in the villages producing early potatoes in the years 2008 to 2009 through individual interviews and statistical analysis. As a result of the study, it is evident that women are generally oppressed; moreover, female seasonal workers have certain disadvantages compared to both men and their counterparts living in urban areas

An analysis of socio-economic and environmental sustainability of goat production in the Taurus Mountain Villages in the Eastern Mediterranean Region of Turkey, with consideration of gender roles

PubMedID: 19107568This paper aims to reveal socio-economic and environmental sustainability of goat production in the Taurus Mountains' villages in Eastern Mediterranean region of Turkey: with consideration of gender roles. Goat production sector is the most important livelihood activity in the Mediterranean region of Turkey. According to various new regulations of the Ministry of Forestry, goat production in the mountainous villages of Taurus Mountains has been banned for recent year for various reasons such as; the destruction of shoots and branches in trees, forest degradation and erosion. Therefore, goat production is decreasing dramatically in that region. Data were collected in 4 districts of 8 villages in which goat production has been done intensively (two villages in each district) by face to face interview with 52 women and 58 men. Data were analyzed in Statistical Program of Social Science (SPSS). According to our findings, goat production has different affects on the lives of men and women and the sustainability of the sector is dependent on social factors, primarily education. © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2008

Socioeconomic and environmental sustainability of goat breeding in Taurus Mountain villages located in the Eastern Mediterranean Region of Turkey: A review after ten years

The main objective of this study was to determine the socioeconomic effects of the law enacted in 2007 until 2011 banning goat grazing in forestland on rural populations in Turkey from 2007 to 2018. In addition, the socioeconomic and environmental sustainability of goat breeding were analysed. This study was based on previous works conducted in 2007 and 2018 in 6 Taurus Mountain villages located in the Eastern Mediterranean Region of Turkey. The data obtained from both studies were compared and analysed. The results of this review showed that the grazing prohibition of 2007 did not affect environmental sustainability but impaired socioeconomic sustainability in the study area. It had a more significant negative effect in 2018 than in 2007 on rural families to give up goat breeding and agriculture in general. However, gender analysis showed no significant difference during the study period. © by PSP

Socio-demographic and economic indicators in gender structure in the middle taurus mountainous villages of Turkey [Indicadores sócio-demográficos e econômicos em termos de estrutura de gênero nas aldeias Taurus Mountainous Villages da Turquia]

Socio-demographic and economic indicators are very important clues to scientists and institutions to direct development programs for the empowerment of rural women. The goal of this study is to determine the status of rural women living in the Taurus mountainous villages of Turkey according to socio-demographic and economic indicators as related to gender structure. In this research area, there is not enough official data related to socio-demographic and economic indicators about mountainous rural women, like in most developing countries. For this study, the authors collected data from 146 women and 133 men using questionnaires and face-to-face interviews. In this research area, we found that women occupy positions of low power compared to men when taking socio-demographic and economic indicators into account. Women tend to define themselves as housewives instead of farmers, and their tendency to migrate to cities were higher than men’s. © 2019, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria. All rights reserved

Gender role in the small ruminant sector in mountain area of turkey

To examine gender role of women in small ruminant sector in Taurus mountains of Turkey, data were collected in 10 villages by face to face interview with 100 women. Rural women living in Taurus mountains carry out a primary role in small ruminant activities but their productive work has been ignored and underestimated. They are working on an average 12.6 h a day and get help! support from children and particularly from girls in small ruminant activities. Division of labor in small ruminant activities is unfavorable to women and they have secondary position in decision making process. Accessibility to knowledge, technology, education, health and extension is very difficult for women due to low educational level and patriarchy; and the proportion of illiterate women is 66%. Women ignorant of their primary status and productive role in rural life, define themselves as housewife instead of farmer and do not like their job. © GSP, India

Small ruminant production in turkey: Highlighting in goat production

PubMedID: 19597751This paper deals with the effects of structural, governmental and socio-economic conditions linked to small ruminant production, especially goat production. The number of small ruminants in Turkey fell from almost 51,530 in 1990, to 31,761 in 2007. In 1990, the number of small ruminants started to decrease due to structural, genetic and economic reasons such as a lack of state support policies, high costs of inputs, poor performance of local breeds, socio-economic conditions, and migration. In Turkey, the socio-economic and geographical structure make small ruminant production an important profession; it is also a significant source of income in rural regions. 35% of red meat and 12% of milk production is obtained from small ruminants. Although, Turkey has the highest goat population among its border and EU countries, ranks low with milk production. Reasons for the present situation are well evaluated; changes and tendencies in sheep and goat production as well as milk and meat production that are examined and associated with the population of Turkey are widely discussed. In addition, in order to improve the present situation, some technical and structural suggestions are mentioned. © 2009 Springer Science+Business Media B.V

Determination of the level of awareness of farmers aboft the fse of personal protective eqfipment in pesticide applications

The objective of this study is to determine the level of awareness of farmers about the personal protective equipment used in pesticide applications. The study was conducted in 56 villages in the administrative zone of the central districts of Adana, a southern province of Turkey, during which information was collected from the farmers with the individual interview method. In the individual interviews, demographic properties of the farmers, their behavioural patterns during pesticide applications, general level of knowledge about pesticide applications and level of awareness in the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) were questioned. The farmers included in the scope of the study were 54.14 years old in average and nearly half of them (45.2%) were found to be primary school graduates. The farmers' average history of agricultural activity was 30.19 years, and they had been applying agricultural pesticides for 25.81 years in average. It was determined that 84.7% of the farmers were engaged in arable farming, applying agricultural pesticides 3.15 times a year in average and 88.7% of them had not been informed about the use of PPE. As a result of the study, it was understood that the farmers were not well-informed about the negative effects of pesticides on human health in spite of their significant level of experience in both farming and the use of pesticides, which caused unconsciousness about the use of PPE. In order for the said consciousness to be created, it is important for the relevant institutions to get organized and start field training programs. © 2019 Parlar Scientific Publications. All rights reserved