The impact of agricultural sector on the development of Turkish economy

The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the policies which were pursued in Turkish agricultural sector and explore the ways to maximize its export potential. Firstly, a research has been conducted about why agricultural domain has slowed down in Turkey. Then, an analysis has been conducted in the next chapter concerning recovery of the agriculture. This thesis has been written by collating 107 articles and 20 official sources throughout 10 months. Agriculture is really a crucial sector for almost each nation in the world for it contributes to their economic growth. Particularly, agriculture is a segment which economically takes on a crucial role on the expansion and growth of Turkey. Turkey is a fecund country in terms of agricultural activities. It is more dominant than a lot of other nations in this domain due to fertility of her agricultural lands. It is one of the foremost countries that could take advantage of this sector to generate huge benefits from international trade activities. It has plenty of opportunities to boost its exports in the agricultural sector. However, Turkey has undergone a vast recession in the agricultural sphere in recent years due to wrong agricultural policies. It has begun to import these products from abroad instead of exporting them. Especially, fundamental agricultural inputs such as seeds, fertilizers and pesticides have started to be imported from abroad. These policies have adversely affected the trade balance, gross domestic product (GDP) and consumer price index. Although Turkey has made progress in some segments of the agriculture, it hasn't been able to achieve an overall growth. This inefficieny increases current deficit in the agricultural sector. As a result, Turkey urgently needs radical changes and reforms to make agricultural sector more profitable again and minimize its trade deficit. Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry needs to decide what is to be planned and amount of subsidy that will be given to farmers one year in advance. Findings have denoted that 8,18% of GDP affected import and export amounts of agricultural products toward development of Turkish economy as part of empirical study in my dissertation. In addition, modern and organic agricultural practices should be carried out in order to contribute to revitalization of the agrarian sphere. Keywords: Agriculture, Agricultural Segment, Turkey, Economy, Reform, Agricultural Policy