Jtrne,2006
No. I
Yol.22
Journal of
EXTENSION SYSTEMS I current.htm Web : http: \\ www.jesonline.org
ChiefEditor Dr.O.S.Verma
JOURNAL OF EXTENSIONSYTEMS In ternational Half-Yearly BOARD OF GOVERNORS Chairman Dr. Custav H. Duvel L I n i re r s i t y o f P r e t o r i a 0 0 0 2P r e t o r i a South Africa
C h i e fE d i t o r Dr . O. S. Ver m a F- 12. Hyder abadEstate N a p e a nS e aR o a d M u m b a i- 4 0 0 0 3 6 I N D I A
\\'eb-Editor Dr. Gary J. Wingenbach ]'eras A & M Uni'u,ersitv T e r a s 7 7 8 4 3 .U S A
A c a d e m i cE d i t o r Dr. JohnG. Richardson Nor th Car olinaStateUniver sity R a l e i g hN . C 2 7 6 9 5U S A
GOVERNORS D r . H i ro yu ki T a ke ya \ago1a Universiti C h i k u s a .N a g o v a .J a p a n D r . J a m e sP h e l a n U n i r e r s i t yC o l l e g e D u b l i n .I r e l a n d Dr.Artur Cristovao I t n i r e r s i t yo f T r a s - o s - M o n t e s ; \ l t o D u ro , P o rtu g a l D r . R u th B e i l i n U n i r e r s i t yo f M e l b o u r n e B o u l e v a r dR i c h m o n d3 1 2 1 . Australia D r . W a yn eL a mb l e U n i v e r s i t yo f A l b e r t a E d m o n t o nA l b e r t aT 5 T l C 8 . Canada D r . Ta n e r K u mu k CanakkaiO e nsekizmart LJnir ersitr-. Terzioglu C a n akka l eT.U R K E Y Dr. \lichael Angstreich P r r r s r a rD l i r e c t o r( N A R It N o r u e i s i a n U n i re r s i t y N o r t i 'a y D r . J a m e sR . L i n d n e r gn r iicvuelrt suirtev 'Cf eoxl lacsgAeo&f MAU T e r a s7 7 8 + i .U S A D r . Wa yn eGa n p a t C o o r d i n a t oFr T C . M i n i s t r yo f A g r i c u l t u r e . TRINIDAD
Dr. Milan Slavik C z e c hU n i v e r s i t yo,f A g r i c u l t u r e Pr agueCzechR- epublic* D r . P o n g s a kA n g k a s i t h D e a n ,F a c u l t yo f A g r i c u l t u r e C h i a n gM a i U n i v e r s i t yT. h a i l a n d D r . J a s o nG i t h e k o E g e r t o nU n i v e r s i t y P O B 1 5 11 .N a k u r a K . enya D r . M o h m m a dC h i z a r i T a r b i a tM o d e r r e sU n i r , ' e r s i t y POB-I 4 I 55- 4838. - fehr an,Ir in D r . U w e J e n sN a g e l Hum bold Univ' er s- ity B e r l i n ,G e r m a n y P r o f .M o h m m a dU m a r Univer sity'of SouthPacific Alafua, W ester nSam oa D r . M d . N l o n i r u lI s l a m B a n g l a d e sA h gri. University M y m e n s i n g hB , angladesh Dr . Aysen Olgun [' .geUniver sity Bornova-lzmir TURKEY
CONTENTS June-2006 Issue EDITORIAL Healthcare Reforms Strategy OM S. VERMA 1
FactorsAfflecting the Useof ICTsby IranianAgriculture ExtensionSpecialists .......1_t5 Y.Hedjttzi, R. Rezaee, l',1. Zomoni
2
Extension ReformStrategies For AgriculturalAnd Rural Development .. 16_ 22 WilliamM Rivera
3
JobSatisfaction AmongAgriculturalExtensionpersonnel in Kurdistan Province of lran. .23 _ 35 AhamodRezva{ar, Hadi Vaisv
4
LearningStylesandTeamproblemSolving. A postHarvesr SystemExample ..... .......36-45 FrederickR. Rohs, StanleyE. Prussia, Abelardo l{unezBarrios
5
icrs And RuralDevelopment BeyondThetlype .........46- 62 AlexKoutsouris
6
Extension in organicAgriculture: The caseof Kelkit,
Turkey KtirSat Demirytirek, Alper Gtizel
63 -73
I
Influenceof Demonstration Siteson Farmers'Adoptionof International Instituteof TropicalAgricultr-rre (llTA) Techrrologies. ..74-83 A. E. Adekoya, O. A. Adeokun
8
GenderAnalysisIn F'oodProduction andIts Intake......94- 97 AqeelaSaghir, TanvirAli, MuhammarlZakaria YousufHassort
9
GenderSensitization : GayMarriages Ont S. Verma
.98 - i03
Extensionin OrganicAgriculture: The Caseof KelHt, Turkey KtirEatDemiryiirek* Alper Giizel** Abstract to sustainable Organicagriculturecan be seenas one of the approaches agriculturalsystems,with its own specific principlesand practicesfrom the managementof the farm to rnarketingthe products.Over the pastdecades,there has been a remarkableexpansionof organicagriculturepracticesand organic productsmarketall over theworld,dueto consumerhealthconcernsandincreasing environmental awareness. Turkey is not an exceptionand investmentin organic agricultureis developingin recentyears.An organiclivestockand dairy farm complexwasestablished in 2000by privatesectorin theBlack Searegionof Turkey which will bc the largestorganicdairy complex in Europe.The dairy farm has recentlyappliedcontractual farmingwith the localfarmersin orderto supplyorganic feedcrops.Although,organicagriculturehasthe potentialto enhancethe overall regionaldevelopment, it still requiressignificantextensionservices.The main objectivesof this paperwere : i) to presentthe stateof organicagriculturein the world and in Turkey,ii) to analyzethe problemsconcerningcontractualfarming (betweenthe organiccompanyandthe farmersin the researcharea),iii) to specify the obstaclesthat farmersmay face during the conversionto organicagriculture process.Finally,all the stakeholders in the regionare identifiedand a model for extensionprogramis developed.
INTRODUCTION Organicagriculture is a productionsystemwhichavoidstheuse of synthetic ally compound edfertiIizers,pestici des,growthregulators andlivestockfeedadditives.Organicfarmingsystemsrely on crop rotations,crop residues, animalmanures,legumes,greenmanures, otT-farmorganicwastes,and aspectof biologicpest control to maintainsoil productivityandtilt, to supplyplant nutrientsand to * Ondokuz Mayis University,Dept. of Agr. Economics,Samsun,Turkey,
[email protected] * * O n d o k u z M a y i s U n i v e r s i t y , D e p t . o f E c o n o m i c s ,S a m s u n ,T u r k e y ,
[email protected]
KtirEatDemirytirek,Alper Giizel
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controlinsects, weedsandotherpests (usDA, l9g0).Larlpkin(1990) definesorganicfarmingasan approach to agriculturewhich aims to createintegrated andhumanesystems which areenvironmentally andeconomically sustainable. Reliance on externalinputs,whether chemicalor organic,is reducedas far as possiblei' organic agriculture. Themajordistinctivefactorof organicagriculture from conventional furmingpracticesis the existence of both legislated and voluntarystandards and certificationprocedures(Tate, 1994: Lampkiri, 1996). In the lastdecades, organicagriculture practiceshaverapidly increasednot only in developedcountries,but also in many developingcountries due to increasing consumerhealthconcerns and environmental interests. The marketfor organicproductshas beengrowingall overtheworldandin Turkey.Howevertheshareof Turkishorganicproductsin the world marketis still significantly low (Demiryurek,2001). In thispaperfirstlythe stateof organicagriculture in theworld and Turkey is presented. Secondly, organicfeed and livestock investment of a bigprivateTurkishcompany in theBlackSearegion is described. A specialattentionis givento the currentproblemsof the project,in orderto identifythe extensionneedsof all the stakeholders in the area.Finally,a proposed extension programis presented. Materialsand Methods The studyis conducted in the Kelkit districtof the provinceof Gtimushane. Thedistricthadbeendeliberately chosenbecause the first organicdairy farminginitiativewas established there.The companywill be the largestin Europewhen the farm enterprise reachesto full capacity.The organicfeed cropsproducersare contracted by the company,which currentlyproducesorganicmilk itself.Additionally thecompanyobtainssomeof organicfeedsfrom their contracted farmers.In orderto examinethe socialstructures,
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Extensionin OrganicAgriculture: The Caseof Kclkit, Turkey
in the area,a processes and the actionsof variousstakeholders qualitativecasestudyresearchapproachwas usedand interviews were conductedin August,2004.The qualitativedata is gathered from the interviewswith key actors;namely,the leaderfarmers, producersandthe professional selectedorganicandconventional staff respondents from variousinstitutions.The data were also andgroupdiscussions. Since supported by thefieldworkobservation this organicproductionprojectand the studyareahaveparticular to other conditions,the resultsof the papermay not be generalized organicproducersand areas.However,this specificcasecan be and improvingpolicy considered as a contribution to determining programs,extension activities,othersimilarorganic and research productionprojectsandstafftraining. Stateof OrganicAgriculture in the World and Turkey Organicagricultureis currentlypracticedin 1l0 countriesover which is almost the world andthe areaunderorganicmanagement, increasing. Globally, 26.5millionhectares worldwide,is continually thereare more than 558,000farmsunderorganicmanagement. Moreover,oneto four percentof thetotalworld food marketcomes from organicfood (Willer and Yussefi,2005).The world market for organicfood andbe'rerages valuedabout24billion $USin 2003 andit is predicted thatit will reaciiabout30 billion $US by theend of 2005(Yussefi, 20Ar. Currently, themajorityof theworld'sorganic However,organic food marketis composedof fruit andvegetables. especially dairyandmeatproductshaverecentlygivenanimportance in WesternEuropeandNorthAmerica. Historically, by someenthusiastic organicfarmingwasdeveloped foundersandfarmersin EuropeandtheUSA (Tate,1994).However, the first organicproductionactivitiesin Turkeystartedonly in the middle 1980's,by the initiativesof someEuropeancompanies whichuseda contractual andcertification farmingmodel.Inspection which are are carriedout by independent inspectioncompanies,
KtirqatDemirytirek,Alper Giizel
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authorizedby both the Ministry of Agricultureand Rural AfTairs (MARA) andthe Europeanunion (EU) (Demiryiirek,2000). The Iateststatistics from MARA showecl thatorganicagriculture in Turkeydeveloped rapidlybetween1990and2003.Theimber of organicproductshasincreased 22 times(from g to I 76),thenumber of farmerswho adoptedorganicfarminghasincreased morethan4l times(from313to 13,044). Theareaunderorganicmanagement has increased aboutI 00tirnesoverthesameperiod(1,037 halo 103,1 90 ha)whichcorresponds to 0.4percentof thetotalagricultural landin Turkey(Demirytirek,2004).Turkey is the l2'hcountryin temrsof numberof farmsandthe29'hcountryin termsof organicareaamongall the countries whichareinvolvedin organicproduction(Willerand Yussefi, 2005).AlthoughtheexportshareofTurkishorganicproducts in theworld marketis still low (about0.15percent), Turkeyis nor,v one of the most developingcountriesexportingorganicproducts especially to the European market. As far astheproductpatternsof organicproductsareconcerned, fruits(especially raisins,driedfigr, driedapricotsand,hazelnuts) are themajorcrops(66%)followedby fieldcrops(16%)andvegetables (9%) (Tagbagliand zeytin, 2003).Apart from organichoney production,organiclivestock,dairy andpoultryproductions have just startedwith the initiationof privatecompani.r.Dogun Organic is the pioneerorganicdairyproductioncompanyand iis projectis the scopeof thispaper. DoganOrganicProductionin Kelkit, Turkey Doganorganic Productscompanywas established in 2001 runningoneofthe largestorganicproductionprojectsin Turkey.It is plannedthat the project will be the firsi organicagriculture agribusiness in Turkey and will be the largestorganicanimal husbandry andorganicdairyfarm in Europe(plannedto reachabout I 150cowsby * 2008).Thecompanyis currently producing organic,
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Extensionin OrganicAgriculture: The Caseof Kelkit, Turkey
milk andrunningon animalfeedsgrownonthefieldsof thecompany. feedsfrom othercontracted The companyis alsopurchasing organic farms insideand outsidethe project area.In the near future,the companywill distribute25-50organicanimalsto per suitablefarm on a contactbasisandwillpurchasetheirmilk. Themanurefrom the farmwill beprocessed andmarketedasorganicfertilizer.Moreover, 600tonsof organicmeatwill beproducedannually.The milk from into variousmilk the farm andcontracted farmerswill be processed productson the premises(DemiryiirekandGtize\2A04). Conversionto Organic Feedfor the Dairy Company were Whenthe projectwas initiated,regulartrainingsessions organized by thecompany,andfarmersin the regionwereinvited to attendthesesessions. to Farmersinitiallyhadsomereluctance attendthe sessions sincetheywantedto seesomeof the meritsof theprojectbeforehand. Our fieldwork revealed that there has been some misunderstanding betweenthe farmersand the companyaboutthe meaningandmeritsof the project.In the fieldworkthe organicfeed producers andcandidates wereaskedto statetheirmotivationfactors and also hesitations aboutorganicagriculturethroughindividual interviewsanCgroupdiscussions. As expected, amongthe motivationfactors,the mostimportant premiumpriceandmarket onesweretheeconomicfactors(especially guarantee). of Socialmotivationfactors,namelythe encouragement thecompanyrepresentatives especially andotherorganicproducers, of the local leaderfarmerswere also important.Health and environmental concernsfor sustaining'farmingsystemswere less importantin producers'conversion decisions. One of the most importantbarriersto conversionwas the perceptionof potentialproblemsby the producers. Most of the interviewedproducersbelievedthat animal feed and field crops
KtirqatDemiryi.irek,Alper Giizel
6g
production werenearlyimpossible withoutusingchemicalfertilizers andpesticides. Theseproducers wereaccustomed to usingchemicals, andtheyrelatedtheyieldof the cropdirectlyto theuseof cheinicals. This dependency on the useof chemicals maybedueto thelackof informationprovidedby the companyand shorthistoryof orsanic productionsystemsin the area. This findingseemsto confirmsomecommonmisconceptions aboutorganicproduction.Sincemany of the conventional farmers perccivedthat organicproductionsimply meansrestricteduse of chemicals,they did not fully evaluatethe total organicproduction techniques, anddid not know aboutorganicinputssuchu, .unu.., plant residues,off-farmwastes,chalk, ash and sulfuras available replacements for chernicals andpesticides. Thesecondmostcommonbarrier,revealedin theinterviews was directlyrelatedto the actionof the organiccompany.The project managers of the companyorganizedintroductorymeetingsin some villagesof Kelkit. They invited someproducerswho wantedto participatein the organicproject.Importantry, the companydid not haveclearcriteriafor selecting the participating farmers. Thereis inter-dependency betweenthecompanyandthefarmers, sincethe companyis the singlebuyerof the farmer'sproduct.The companyhasits ownextended grassland thoughthiscropproduction wasnot enoughfor thefarmto feedtheiranimals.Ontheotherhand, thecompanyis alsodependent on theproduceofthe contracttbrmers. This is a clearindicationthatthereneedsto be a mutualagreement betweenbothparties. A statedlackof trustby somefarmersfor therepresentatives of the organiccompanywas anotherconversionbarrierfor some respondents. when suchproblems areexperiencec by someprevious and/orpotentialorganicproducerswith the representatives, of the company,theymay quicklydisseminate to otherproducers, and so influenceotherpotentialproducersin the area.
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Extensionin OrganicAgriculture: The Caseof Kelkit, Turkey
The reasonsgiven by the interviewed farmers for the discontinuance of organiccropsproductionactuallyidentifythe problemswhich had been faced by the producers,and their or beliefs.Bothproduction experiences, ratherthantheirperceptions problems andthe lack of trustto the companywerecommonand of organicproduction. criticalreasonsfor the discontinuance to someof Lack of supportby the company'sprojectmanagers Dissatisfaction with the producers alsoresultedin discontinuance. credit,organicinputsupply, thecompany's services suchasinadequate payments, cielayed andnon-keptpromiseswereamongthe reasons evencomplained of discontinuance. In somecases,the producers thatthe companydid not buytheircrops.Low premiumprice(less thaneitherpromisedby the companyor expectedby somefarmers) r,vas reason.The companyhadalsoexpelled anotherdiscontinuance someproducersfrom the project,becausethey did nct perform regulations. according to the companies' OrganizingTraining Coursesfor Organic Agriculture and LivestockProduction Integratinganimalhusbandryinto crop producingfarmsis one playsan of the principlesof organicfarming.Animal husbandry importantrole in the recyclingof nutrients.The caring,trainingand as an aft in manyfarming feedingof animalshavebeenconsidered communities. Animal husbandryin organicagricultureis different Extensiveanimal frombothextensive andintensiveanimalhusbandry. husbandryis often environmentally damaging,howeverintensive animalhusbandry usuallykeepsanimalsunderethicallyunacceptable conditions(IFOAM, 2004).Hence,the characteristics of organic animalhusbandry haveto be keptin mind whentrainingcoursesare four importantpointsaboutorganic designed. IFOAM (2004)stresses whenconversion animalhusbandry andtheseshouldbe considered to organicfarm practicesis advised.Theseare: . Farm animalscan havemany functionson a farm, but not all
Ktirqat Demiryrirek, AlperGtizel ' ' '
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farmsaresuitablefor keepinganimals, Organicanimalhusbandryputs a centralfocuson the welfare andhealthof the animals, In orderto obtaina sustainable farmingsystem,it is crucialto selectthe right kindandnumberof farm animals,and Shedsandbeddingsmustbe deveroped in a way to ensurethe welfareandhealthof the animals.
In thetrainingcourses, theparticipants shouldalsobe informed aboutbasicadvantages anddisadvantages of organicfarming. They shouldlearn to make their own judgmentaboutthe suitabilityof their farm for organicproduction,availabilityof necessary inputsand accessibility of a marketfor their products. Feedinganimalsis also very importantin organicllvestock production, anda specialattention hasto begivenintofeedinganimals in thetrainingcourses. A generaltrainingcourseon organicfarming and organicanimalhusbandrymay not suit to the needsof all the stakeholders. Wehaveidentifiedfive groupswith distinctive trainins capabilities. Theseare: ' Publicextension serviceofficerssuchasthepersonnel in MARA districtofficeof Kelkit (veterinaries,agricultural engineers, veterinary technicians, agriculturaltechnicians,home economists andvillageconsultants in the area) ' Privateextensionofficers(including the personnelin the company) ' vocationalSchool,Department of organicAgriculture(teachers andstudents) ' Leaderfarmers(farmerswhose practicesarefollowedby other farmersin the area) . Organicfarmers(existingandpotential) Accordingto theneedsof abovegroups,we haveidentifiedfour coursecomponents. componentI (lntroductionand principlesof organic Agriculture)and II (AgriculturalExtensionand Farmer
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Extension in Organic Agriculture : TheCaseof Kelkit,Turkey
Trainingin organicAgriculture)are moretechnicaland would be organized asa workshopwith extensivegroupdiscussion to suitthe needsof public and privateextensionofficers.Theseprofessional groupsof staffwill thentrainorganic(currentandpotential)producers andconductfieldworkswith them.Component II is alsoconvenient for the vocationalschoolteachersandstudents. On the otherhand, Components III (OrganicPlantProduction) andIV (OrganicAnimal Husbandry)arespeciallyorganized for leaderandselectedorganic farmersin trainingcourseformat. Both componentsshouldbe supported with field demonstrations andfarmtrials.Cooperation of someselectedleaderfarmersandvocationalschoolstudentsin the trainingsessions is alsovital for the success of adoptionof organic farmingpracticesin the area. CONCLUSIONS Organicproduction will requiresignificant extension services. Recently, theprovisionof extensionservices by the government has declinedeventhoughtheresearch showshugebenefitsfrom research andextensionservicesin Turkey(Furtanet. al. 1999).Inorderto run the projectefficiently,privateorganicfirms shouldprovide extensionsupportto organicproducersin additionto marketingof theirproducts. However, thereis a dilemmaaboutextension services in organic agriculture. The main questionis who shouldbe responsible from agriculturalextension theprivatesectoror thegovernment? While the organicfarmingproject is a privatesectorinitiative in the region,it may createsignificantbackwardand forwardbenefitsto the localcommunityin thefuture.Hence,thebenefitsof thisproject will probablyaccrueto a largersocietyasa whole.Therefore,it may not befair for theprivatesectorto beartheentirecostof the extension services. Extensionservicethat accompanies technological change is usuallycasespecificandvery expensive. Privatecompanies with relativelysmallmarketsharein the outputmarkethaveneverbeen
KtirEatDemirytirek,Alper Gtizel
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willingto bearthefull costof research andextension services. Since thenewtechnologies hasthepotentialto createa positiveexternality not only for the directbeneficiaries, but to a laigersociety,public shouldalsocontribute to the costof the extensionservicesiequired. Participation andinvolvementof NGO's andthe government in the extensionand trainingpart of the organicdairy farmingwould be considered a long-terminvestment for futuregrow-thonJ ru..ess in thearea. Acknowledgements We are gratefulto Dr. JohnG. Richardsonfor his concern and helpfor this paper.Wealsowould like to thankMs. Esra Derleand Mr' Onur Koprtiltifor their help in variousstages of thestudy.This articleis a derivativeof a paperthatwaspresented by the authorsat the 17'h European Seminar on Extension Education thatwasheldin Izmir,TurkeyAugust30 - September 3,2005. REFERENCES Demirytirek, K. 2000.TheAnalysisof Information Systems for organicand Conventional Hazelnut Producers in ThreeVillages of theBlackSel Region, phD Thesis.TheUniversity Turkey.Published olReading,Reading, IJK. Demiryiirek, K' 2004'Organic Agriculture in theWorldandTurkey(ln Turkish). Journalof Facultyof Agricurture, Harranuniversity, Turkey.'gjrg.pp. 63_ 7t. Demiryiirek,K. and Gtizer , A. 2004.organicAgricurtureand organicAnimar Husbandry: An Extensicin Program foiKelkit Region.A Report(unpublished) prepared for LINDpAnkara,Turkey. Furtan, w.H', GiizelA.,andBayaner A. rggg.AnExamination of Agricurturar Productivityand Returnsto AgriculturalResearch in Turkiy. AERI pubIications, Ankara,Turkey. IFOAM, 2004.TrainingManual for organicAgriculture in the Tropics.FIBL, Switzerland. Lampkin.N. 1990.Organic Farming. Farmingpress,Ipswich.
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Extensionin OrganicAgriculture: The Caseof Kelkit, Turkey
Lampkin,N. 1996.Impact of EC Regulation2078192on the Developmentof OrganicFarmingin theEuropeanUnion.WorkingPaperNo.T.V/elshInstitute of Rural Studies,Aberystwyth. T a g b a g lH i , . a n d Z e y t i n , B . 2 0 0 3 . P r i n c i p l e so f O r g a n i c A g r i c u l t u r e ( I n Turkish).Turkish Ministryof AgricultureandRuralAffairs,Ankara,Turkey. T a t e , W . B . 1 9 9 4 . T h e D e ve l opmentof the Or ganicIndustr yand Mar ket: An I n te rn a ti o n aPl e rsp e ctive. In: Lam pkinN.H. ve S. Padel( eds) .The Economicsof Organic Farming: An International Perspective.CAB Internation al, Wallingford. USDA 1980. Report anclRecommendations on OrganicFarming. UniteC StatesDepartment of Agriculture,Washington, D.C. Wilier,H. andYussefi,M. 2005.The Worldof OrganicAgriculture:Statistics and EmergingTrends 2005. InternationalFederationof Organic Agriculture Movements(IFOAM), Bonn Germany. Yussefi,M. 2003. Developmentand Stateof OrganicAgricultureWorld-wide. Yussefi,M. andWiller,H. (eds.).The Worldof OrganicAgriculture:Statistics andFutureProspects 2003 (5th revisededition).Tholey-Theley: IFOAM.
