Determination of the Factors Affecting the Level of Benefit from Young Farmer Project Support in Rural Development: Tekirdag Sample, Türkiye

Abstract

Achieving development in the field of agriculture in a country passes through the development of rural areas. Various plans, programs and policies are being developed for the sustainability of production and solving the problems of those living in rural areas. In recent years, it has been given importance to support development and entrepreneurship in agriculture in Türkiye in order to solve the existing problems. For this purpose, the Young Farmer Project was put into effect with the decision of the Council of Ministers in 2016. With this project, it is aimed to ensure that young farmers stay in the agricultural sector by providing the support they need, and to prevent migration from rural to urban by encouraging their agricultural production and activities. In this research, the application process of the farmers who received support between 2016 and 2017 in Tekirdag province with the Young Farmer Project, how they carried out the project, what kind of difficulties they faced while carrying out, how they continued it, and where they could carry it was determined. A survey was conducted with 106 young farmers who received support within the scope of the research. 54% of the young farmers participating in the research are woman farmers. The fact that male farmers have existing businesses registered on them that they work in other paid jobs besides farming, positive discrimination against women within the scope of the project has contributed to the increase in the number of female young farmer applicants and winners. 82.1% of the young farmers involved in the project also reside in the rural area before the project, and 13.2% live both in the city center and in the rural areas. The rate of those who started living in rural areas after receiving project support is 4.7%. It has been determined that young farmers who own livestock enterprises do not have an increase in their income levels, and they have difficulty in meeting their borrowing and operating input costs. Young people who receive support within the scope of the Young Farmer Project express the opinion that the project will not encourage agriculture and animal husbandry. For women farmers, the most important contribution of the project is that they have owned businesses for the first time, and for male farmers, they have further expanded their existing businesses.