Determining the migration behaviors of rural youth living in the south central (Konya, Kayseri, Ni̇ğde) region and the tendencies to stay in agriculture

In this study, it was investigated whether the young people living in the countryside of the middle south region have thoughts of migrating to a different place and their tendency to stay in agriculture. Within this framework, the expectations of rural youth in the region from the rural area, their perspectives on agriculture, migration intentions, motives and behaviors were examined. At the same time, the socio-economic structure of the households in which the young people live was investigated, the perspectives of the parents of the young people on agriculture and migration were also examined and the effect of migration behavior of the young people was determined. The provinces of Konya, Kayseri and Niğde are included in the spatial scope of the study. In the research, 48 village information and 308 youth and household surveys were conducted through face-to-face interviews. The young people surveyed were selected in the December 15- 29 age range for the purpose. The data obtained from the surveys were evaluated by Chi square and Migration Behavior Index (GDI) analyses and the results were presented in the form of charts. According to the research findings, it was determined that 37% of young people in the region want to migrate from the rural area where they live, 58.1% do not want to migrate, and 4.9% are undecided. Among the provinces in the region, the greatest desire to migrate (62%) is among the young people living in the countryside of Niğde province, while 70% of the young people living in the countryside of Konya province do not have a desire to migrate. A significant relationship was found between the intentions of young people to emigrate and factors such as education, age, gender, migration intention of the head of household, adequacy of agricultural income. In general, it has been found that a large proportion of young people who want to emigrate plan to work in non-agricultural fields in the places where they emigrate. It has been determined that factors such as the way of migration, the work plan, the family's approach to the migration decision play a decisive role in the migration behavior of young people. Konya, Kayseri and Niğde provinces, which are located in the middle south region of Turkey, have a very important place in terms of agricultural production. In order to maintain and further increase the importance of these provinces in the agricultural sector, rural areas should be made attractive to young people and migration should have a positive impact on rural areas.