The effect of land particularation on hazelnut production cost and profitability: The case of Beşikdüzü district

Having a fragmented land structure in agricultural enterprises is an obstacle to the economic sustainability of the enterprise. Hazelnut is an important crop in terms of agricultural production and exports, which is widely grown in the Black Sea Region. The aim of this study was to reveal the effect of land fragmentation on hazelnut production cost and profitability. The primary data of the study were obtained from face-to-face surveys conducted with 133 sample hazelnut farms determined according to the stratified random sampling method in Beşikdüzü district of Trabzon province. As a method in the research, simple descriptive statistics of the variables were given in tables according to the level of hazelnut garden fragmentation, and statistical differences between enterprise groups were revealed by t-test and khi-square test according to the nature of the variable. According to the research findings, the average hazelnut garden size of the enterprises was 8.9 da. While the average total hazelnut production cost per decare was 7330 TL in the farms with one parcel, it was 7931 TL and 8395.2 TL in farms with two and parcels, respectively. While the average total net production cost per decare in hazelnut farms with one parcel was 7170TL, it was 7793 TL and 8270.3 TL in hazelnut farms with two and three parcels, respectively. While the average production cost of one kg of hazelnut was 62.9 TL in single plot farms, it was 65.6 TL and 77.7 TL in two and three plot farms, respectively. There was a difference of 14.8 TL in unit cost between hazelnut cultivation in one plot and three plots. As the fragmentation of the lands owned by hazelnut farms increases, the production cost of the farms increases, while the profitability of production decreases. It is deemed necessary to take measures to prevent the fragmentation of hazelnut lands and to consolidate them.