AN OVERVIEW OF THE WORLD'S SEVENTH-LARGEST AGRICULTURAL PRODUCER...
Turkey: Overview of the world’s seventh-largest agricultural producer Agriculture comprises around 23 percent of the Turkish economy. Approximately 4 million farmers look after 24 million ha of productive land. Average farm size is around 60 decare [a unit of surface measure equal to 10 acres, or 1000 square meters: equivalent to 0.2471 acre] Wheat is the most widely grown commodity, but milk is the most valuable. “If your most valuable product is wheat, that’s a sign that you’re an ‘old’ agricultural country,” says İsmail Uğural, an agricultural media commentator. “The country has entered a more modern phase now.” There’s been massive change in Turkish society, economy, politics and culture over the last 70 years. Around 15-20 million people have come out of agriculture since the 1940s, moving to urban centres and causing rural depopulation. No other European country has witnessed such profound changes in the last 70 years, so Turkey faces great challenges in how it manages an...