Organic Grape Production and Producer Status in Adıyaman Province; Example of Besni District

Abstract

This study was carried out to evaluate the socio-economic structure and organic farming activities of grape producers in Besni. A face-to-face survey was conducted with producers producing organic grapes. Data were obtained by interviewing a total of 50 producers. The number of organic products grown between 2005 and 2018 increased from 205 to 213 in Turkey. The number of producers engaged in cultivation in this area has increased more than 5 times compared to 2005. It reached nearly 80.000 in 2018. The area of organic vegetable production increased from 203.811 to 626.884 hectares in Turkey. While the production area increased 2.5 times, the production amount increased almost 4 times. Today, a variety of products in organic vegetable production, planting area, the number of farmers has increased in Turkey. The findings were obtained education level of the producers, the number of individuals in the family, record keeping, annual total income, newspaper reading, grape yield, grape cultivation area, property and rental land, credit usage, weed control, organic farming knowledge level, organic farming by using variables such as thoughts and grape variety. There are serious differences between conventional agriculture and organic farming. The family structure is effective in production activities. It has been determined that the thoughts of organic farming have changed depending on the age and experience of the producers. Organic grape producers have turned to organic farming due to their desire to sell their products at higher prices with state supports. Also, it has been suggested that organic farming is important in terms of the sustainability of living life all over the world. Increasing producer income and environmental awareness are among the main reasons for the transition to organic farming.