Determining the environmental perceptions of cotton producers in Aydin province

This study examined the environmental perceptions of cotton producers in Aydın province employing contingent variation method and determined their willingness to pay and accept values. In addition, this study analyzed farmers? drip irrigation choices by probit and logit methodologies. For this purpose 100 surveys, chosen from three villages out of three towns (Koçarlı, Nazilli, Söke), where cotton production has importance, were carried out. According to the results, average age was found as 46, education as 7.45 years, and household size as 5 people. Average farm size was found as 69.59 da with the large variations in size. For instance, the smallest land size is 11 da while largest land is 300 da. The average number of farm animals was found as approximately 6. Off-farm employment is 42 % indicating the need for additional income in the region. The ratio of cooperative membership is 66 %. The ratio of farmers who are willing to make an effort towards erosion control is only 41 % which indicates that the farmers in the region are unwilling to participate in such environmental programs. The ratio of farmers who use drip irrigation is 22 % and it indicates that natural resources are utilized in an inefficient way in a period in which environmental problems appear as a main issue. All of the farmers who participate in the survey have indicated their willingness to produce organic cotton. This finding shows that farmers are willing to participate in environmental programs that raise their income directly. The willingness to pay of farmers in the region was found as 18.50 YTL/da, while environmental protection related willingness to accept value was determined as 132 TYL/da. These findings show that farmers? willingness to pay amount is quite lower compared with willingness to accept amount. In order to determine the factors that impact farmers? drip irrigation choice probit and logit models were estimated. The results show that age, education, and cooperative membership increase the probability of drip irrigation choice. The results indicate that the farmers should be organized and be informed through extension activities in order to improve their environmental consciousness.Key Words: Aydın, Cotton Farmers, Environmental Perceptions, Contingent Valuation