An investigation of information sources and marketing problems of maize producers in Diyarbakir

Maize is cultivated in a large area in Mediterranean region in Turkey, followed by Southeastern Anatolia and Western Anatolia regions. In Turkey, 15.8% of total maize production is in Adana, 11.3% in Mardin, 10.7% in Şanlıurfa. Diyarbakir province is in the 7th place, contributing 5.3% of country's total production. Bismil and Silvan districts of Diyarbakir province were selected as the research area for this study; data were collected with help of a questionnaire from 106 maize producers in 10 villages. Socio-economic status of the producers, production techniques related to maize, and sources of economic information, were investigated in this study. Additionally, marketing structure of maize in the study area and problems are revealed. Data collected from respondents were analyzed using Chi-square test according to the size of landholding. Results show that there was a significant relationship between producers' first agriculture information source and landholding size. Similarly, findings revealed a relationship between landholding size and marketing channels.