Assessing the Land Consolidation Projects from the Perspective of Farmers (A Case Study in Artova District of Tokat Province in Turkey)

Abstract

Land consolidation is a powerful and effective tool in solving the fragmentation problem of agricultural lands to form a larger, more rational and efficient land for the farmers. The benefits of land consolidation projects are providing access to parcels, efficient use of water resources, real location of parcels, and reducing the costs of irrigation and drainage projects. Although not sufficiently successful, the land consolidation projects in Turkey had been initiated in 1961. This study was aimed to measure and assess the knowledge, expectation and attitudes of farmers on the land consolidation project planned to be implemented for some villages in Artova District of Tokat Province, Turkey. The study was carried out in Taşpınar and Aşağı Güçlü villages which were included in the consolidation program. In these villages, 62 farmers were selected by proportional sampling method out of 175 producers registered in the Farmer Registration System (FRS) and, face to face questionnaires were carried out with them. The results indicated that the producers support the project primarily due to the convenience in irrigation and increasing the efficiency of mechanization. Chi-square analysis revealed that the problems caused by disadvantages of fragmented land structure, importance of land integrity and the experience on a previous consolidation project area are important for the producers supporting the land consolidation project.