Despite agricultural support in Turkey, agricultural production areas, production quantities, and the number of farmers have gradually decreased. In this research, we aimed to determine farmers’ attitudes toward public agricultural support policy for sustainability in GAP, Şanlıurfa, Turkey, and the factors affecting their attitudes. This research is the first of its type for GAP, Şanlıurfa, Turkey. The data were obtained in 2017 from face-to-face interviews with farmers who were selected using the simple random sampling method. Categorical regression, based on the optimal scaling model, was used in the analysis. The results indicate that although 80% of the farmers believe that support has improved agricultural sustainability, 76.2% find public support policy inadequate. The average land area of those who were in favor of the policy was 18.3 hectares, whereas that of those who stated that support does not provide a significant contribution was 7.17 hectares. The age of the farmer, total cultivated area, settlement area, education level, property type, crop pattern, irrigated agriculture, and income were factors affecting farmers’ attitudes. The support policy should be reviewed for small-scale farmers and farmers who engage in dry farming. The results could be helpful to support policy and decision-makers during sustainable agriculture policy planning.

Sustainable agriculture is necessary for farmers to have a sustainable income. This research aims to determine the willingness to pay (WTP) of farmers in the GAP-Harran Plain for services that would ensure sustainable agricultural income, the factors affecting their willingness, and the minimum amount they would be willing to pay. The main material of the research has been obtained by means of face-to-face surveys involving farmers selected by a simple random sampling method in the GAP-Harran Plain. The sampling volume was determined with a 95% confidence limit and a 5% error margin. Heckman’s two-stage model was used for the analysis. According to the results of the research, 22.61% of the participants showed WTP, and the average amount they were willing to pay was 180.82 TL/hectare (ha) ($31.86/ha). This amount was 3.08% of the average annual agricultural income calculated. About 41.22% of the participants showed no WTP. They believed that the public sector is accountable of the services and consequently, they should be provided free of charge. About 23.14% of the participants showed WTP only for the services that they needed. The average WTP for all participants was calculated as 40.9 TL/ha ($7.21/ha) and 1.2 million $/year for the GAP-Harran Plain. This amount is the minimum and may increase by several folds with a demand-based variety of service delivery. The factors that statistically effect WTP have been determined as age, education, experience, number of households working in agriculture, amount of land, agricultural income, non-agricultural income, membership status of agricultural cooperatives, and product pattern. The results provide useful information to guide researchers, decision-makers, and policy-makers.

There is a risk of salinity and degradation in soil structure due to excessive irrigation in the GAP-Harran Plain. The purpose of the research is to determine farmers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for applications of sustainable agricultural land usage practices to avoid salinization in soil based on irrigation problems related to the demands of the farmers’, their needs, and which factors affect their willingness to accept payment. The basic material of the research was obtained through face-to-face questionnaires from farmers who were selected by a method of simple random sampling in 2018. Heckman’s two-stage model was used in the analysis of the data in Stata. According to the results obtained from the research, 27.85% of the participants indicated WTP and the average amount was USD 16.2/hectare. The average WTP is calculated as USD 4.43/hectare for all participants and 735.38 thousand USD/year for the whole plain. The agricultural income, household size, farming experience, land amount, non-agricultural income, education level, working in the non-agricultural sector, and membership of farmers’ union were determined as statistically effective factors. It is necessary to raise the awareness of farmers through extension services. As awareness increases, both WTP and the adoption of applications will increase. The results supply useful data for people working on this subject for the planning and implementation of sustainable usage of resources in Turkey and to regions with similar socio–economic characteristics. This study is the first of its kind in GAP-Harran, Turkey.

Şanlıurfa is the province with the third-largest agricultural area in Turkey. However, it has only 0.62% of the total number of cooperatives in the country. This study aimed to determine the perceptionsof farmers in Şanlıurfa regarding agricultural cooperatives and the factors affecting them. The main research material was obtained through face-to-face surveys involving farmers in Şanlıurfa selected by a simple random sampling method. The sampling volume was determined with a 95% confidence limit and a 5% error margin. Multiple regression analysis was used in Stata software. According to the results of the research, 39.7% of the participants were cooperative members and more than half of them were not active members. Of the participants, 30.3% had a positive perception of cooperatives, 36.82% were undecided, and 32.88% had negative opinions. Age, marital status, non-agricultural income, experience, social security, farmer registration system, cooperative membership, and land variables positively affected farmers’ perceptions. However, the variables of education, income, and union membership had negative effects on farmers’ perceptions. No statistically significant relationship was reported between a farmer’s perception and any of the following variables: the number of people that make up the farmer’s household, the number of individuals engaged in agriculture and non-agricultural work in the family, and the status of the farmer’s lease. Conceptual, local, cultural, educational, and structural problems related to cooperatives exist in Şanlıurfa.These issues need to be given more attention by the public. This research is the first study on this subject to be conducted in Şanlıurfa.

Öz Abstract In this paper, urban, rural and migration concepts have been primarily analysed; related concepts in the literature and provisions of these concepts have been examined. Migration movements in Turkey, especially rural-urban migration has been examined by rural and urban population change in years. It is also analysed that the reasons of rural-to-urban migration, involvement of family members in the migration decision and the changes in urban and rural as a result of the migration. Urbanization problems which arise from rural-to