The contribution of agricultural extension and farmer tendencies on sustainable agriculture in the Aegean region

In this research, the farmers' tendencies to the sustainable agriculture and extension contribution in the process are examined in the Aegean Region. The provinces with high agricultural potential as Izmir, Aydin and Manisa have been selected by purposeful sampling for study area in Aegean Region. Three counties from each province and four villages from each county have been selected for representing the research area, and totally 270 farmers were interviewed in the study. Although, the study has covered all public extension staff in the survey area, but 177 extensionists filled the questionare forms. The response rate of extensionists to the survey was %46.21. According to the research findings, farmers' practices are moderately sustainable. Multinomial logistic regression results show that, education level, the amount of irrigated land, income satisfaction, the cooperative membership, second crop-growing tendencies and the number of family members, are increasing the sustainability. In recent years, extension activities on sustainable farming have increased in the public extension programs, but the contribution of agricultural extension to the sustainable agriculture is not at the desired level in the region. Additionally, farmers are willing to learn and practice sustainable agriculture techniques.