مرکز منطقه ای اطلاع رساني علوم و فناوري

Abstract :

Located largely on a tableland with an average altitude of 2.000 meters in the Northeastern Anatolia and mostly covered with volcanic materials, Kars province territories are under the influence of harsh continental climate, which is long and cold in winters and short, chilly and rainy in summers. As a result of this general condition, vegetative agricultural activities are limited in the province and the human economic activities have developed mainly on the basis of livestock breeding, depending on the Alpin pastures that turn green in May and remain green until August. With the influence of natural and human environmental conditions, the animal existence in the province varies by years, yet generally shows a tendency to increase. As of 2015, the province where nearly 1.000.000 bovine and ovine animals live represents 1.7 % of the total animal existence in Turkey.Despite the high quantity of animals bred in the province, their qualities are still at low levels and the productivities of products, like meat and dairy, are below Turkish and European averages with the influence of natural conditions, in particular. The number of businesses producing on the basis of livestock breeding in the province is limited due to the influence of under population and economic inadequacies, while the milk collected from animals are converted into primarily kashar cheese, as well as other cheese types, and dairy products and marketed outside the province. Majority of the animals raised for meat, on the other hand, is sold outside the province as livestocks. The population, economy of which is directly associated with livestock breeding, is around 200.000 in a province with a population of approximately 300.000 in total.