Factors affecting the use of subsidized agricultural loans of hazelnut farms in tekkeköy district of Samsun province

Hazelnut is one of the most important agricultural products in Turkey's agricultural production and export. Hazelnut enterprises require external financing, especially for covering agricultural inputs and harvesting labor costs. This study aims to determine the access of hazelnut enterprises in Tekkeköy district of Samsun Province to subsidized agricultural loans and the factors influencing this. The primary data of the research were obtained through face-to-face surveys with 123 sample hazelnut enterprise managers selected using stratified random sampling method based on the criterion of hazelnut orchard size. Heckman's Two-Stage Selection Model was used to analyze the access to the factors influencing the subsidized loan usage of hazelnut enterprises. The research findings showed that the average land ownership of the farms was 34.3 decares, hazelnut orchards constitute 41.8% of the existing land in farms using subsidized loans, and 51.2% in farms not using subsidized loans. The proportion of enterprises engaged in non-agricultural activities is 20.2% for enterprises using subsidized loans, and 59% for enterprises not using subsidized loans. While 68.3% of the farms have used subsidized loans, 31.7% of the farms have not used subsidized loans. According to the model results, the access of hazelnut farms to subsidized loans and the amount of credit utilization are statistically positively influenced by variables such as marital status, farmer's risk structure, attitude towards interest rates, hired labor costs, access to extension services, frequency of visiting credit institutions, and presence of credit cards, while education level has a negative impact. It was found that producers generally face various difficulties in accessing subsidized loans. In this regard, reducing the collateral requirements requested by credit institutions and replacing guarantor instead of mortgages as collateral can havve positive impact on farmers' access to and the amount of credit granted. Additionally, the use of credit cards by hazelnut producers should be promoted.