Farmersʹ perceptions of farmer organizations in rural areas

Agricultural organizations are important tools in enhancing the living standards in rural areas; better utilizing farmerʹs resources, increasing revenues, and achieving agricultural development. Organizational development in rural areas in Turkey is not at a desired level yet. It is very clear that organizing is for the benefit of farmers. Despite this, it is necessary to determine perceptions of farmers about farmer organizations in order to understand the reasons for their not being organized. This study is undertaken to determine the perception of farmers about organization of producers in rural areas. The research is carried out in the province of Van in eastern Turkey. The study material consists of primary data collected from 118 major producers through a questionnaire. As a result, it is determined that a meaningful relationship exists (P<0.05) between the producersʹ desire to become a member of farmer cooperatives and the level of education. There is also a meaningful relationship between the level of income and the belief that a farmer organization can be beneficial, as well as between the level of income and the desire to become a member of a cooperative (P<0.05). It is seen that the level of desire to become a member of cooperative increases as the level of education increases. The results show that the producers do not trust the organizations fully (50%) and that they believe that there is unfair preferential treatment of some members (30 - 33%). There is a meaningful relationship between the realization of membersʹ expectations and the success of their cooperatives (P<0.05). According to these results, the farmers who realize their expectations within cooperative see the cooperative as a successful one.