Farmers’ behaviors regarding the decrease in the area of cotton

Abstract

The main objective of this study is to determine the economical and social reasons of farmers’ behaviors concerning the decrease in the area of cotton plantations in Izmir, Turkey. To do so, 84 cotton growers were interviewed in the province of Izmir. According to the results of the study, the cost variable in the cotton farms investigated was calculated as:

€1,446.6 ha-1; gross margin, €524.4 ha-1, and the yield, 4,018 kg ha-1. In the studied area, 44% decrease in the area of cotton plantations was observed in 2006 compared to the year 2000. According to the farmers, some of the most important reasons for the decrease in the area of cotton plantations are the decrease (55%) in the producer prices and the increase in the costs (36%) of growing cotton. The possibility of giving up/not giving up cotton production is affected negatively by the social variable of the education level of the farmer, but the cotton growing experience of the farmer, and the farmer’s family size, affect the possibility positively. As for the structural /economical variables, farm size negatively affects the possibility but satisfaction from premiums and gross margin have positive effects. Farmers also demand a 90% increase in the premiums and state that they will give up growing cotton unless there are enough subsidies. In this situation, it turns out that to prevent decreases in the area of cotton plantations, it is necessary to lower production costs and provide price stability, along with long term policies consistent with other crops, through which subsidies are determined prior to the season.