Sustainable agricultural development practices and environment: The case of Kabali village

The emergence of the concept of sustainable development is a response to the need to balance economic growth with the emergence of social and environmental concerns. Agriculture, on the other hand, is one of the largest production sectors in the world, beyond the production of simple foods. For this reason, the relationship between sustainable development and agriculture is important. It is necessary to first determine the relationship between the environmental dimension, the social dimension, and the economic dimension in socio-economic terms, both on a global scale and at a national level. For this reason, since the 1970s, it has been organizing various conferences and meetings in the international arena in the fields of sustainability, sustainable development, and agriculture in the context of how these areas will shape their relationship with environmental life. At the national level, states consider the agricultural sector important within the framework of their development plans in the field of sustainable development. Considering the five-year development plans implemented in Turkey, it can be stated that the sustainable development goals set forth in the final reports of international conferences determine the agriculture-environment relationship in principle. However, it seems essential to examine the practical response of the subject. The Deveci Havzasi Fruit Growing Integration Project in Kabali Village of Yozgat Province, which is the subject of our research, is a project realized in this respect, and we examine the positive and negative aspects of this project on regional development with both quantitative and qualitative data. First of all, we present the theoretical and conceptual framework of our research while discussing the Kabali Project. The relationship between economic development and the environment is discussed based on the idea of sustainability, and the dimensions of sustainable development are analyzed. Starting from this theoretical background, Turkey's development paradigm is analyzed over five-year periods, and the response of sustainable development thought in the political context, in particular agricultural practices, is examined. At this point, it is clear that the sustainable agricultural practices applied in Turkey contribute to improving the living standards of the population in low-development regions. In addition, in order to analyze the efficiency of the application outputs in agricultural production, it is important to turn to concrete examples. The purpose of giving this theoretical background is to determine whether the Deveci Havzasi Fruit Growing Integration Project in Kabali Village of Yozgat Province can be a model for sustainable agricultural practices in Turkey. This has been accepted as a research problem. The ultimate aim of the study is to reveal the social, economic, and environmental results of the Deveci Havzasi Fruit Growing Integration Project, which has passed from the project phase to the implementation phase, within the framework of sustainable agriculture principles. To achieve this aim, the results of the project were investigated in the context of sustainable agricultural development and environmental impact, sustainable agricultural development and social impact, and sustainable agricultural development and economic impact. As a result, in this study, in which case research methodology was used, it is seen that the relevant project has found a positive response in principle within the sustainable agricultural development practices in Turkey over a 10-year period. Keywords: Sustainable Development, Sustainable Agriculture, Environment, Environmental Policies, Deveci Havzası Fruit Growing Integration Project.