The economic impact of agriculture and rural development support institution supports on agricultural enterprises and industry in Diyarbakır: A regional development-oriented analysis

Rural development policies hold strategic importance in reducing regional development disparities and improving the quality of life in rural areas. Within the framework of the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA), the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance for Rural Development (IPARD) programs were implemented by the Agriculture and Rural Development Support Institution (TKDK) to achieve these goals during Turkey's European Union harmonization process. The aim of this study is to analyze the economic impacts of IPARD supports provided by the TKDK on agricultural enterprises and the agricultural industry in Diyarbakır province from a regional development perspective. Research findings indicate that during the IPARD I period in Diyarbakır, 268 million TRY was invested in 153 projects, with 98 million TRY provided as grant support. In this period, 90.8% of the projects were run by male entrepreneurs and 9.2% by female entrepreneurs. In the IPARD II period, however, 978 million TRY was invested in 465 projects, with 411 million TRY provided as grant support. The gender distribution nearly equalized in IPARD II (48.6% female, 51.4% male), and the rate of young entrepreneurs rose to 66.7%. Sectoral analyses reveal that investments during the IPARD I period were largely concentrated in the livestock sector (red meat 41.6%, milk production). In IPARD II, beekeeping (170 projects) and crop production (99 projects) stood out in terms of the number of projects, while craftsmanship and value-added products (287.4 million TRY) and red meat production (194.8 million TRY) were the leading sectors in terms of investment amount. It was observed that female entrepreneurs tended towards lower-capital sectors such as milk production and beekeeping, while young entrepreneurs concentrated on dynamic fields like red meat production and beekeeping. The study demonstrates that the IPARD programs have become more inclusive over time and have provided significant increases in participation, especially for women. However, low project numbers in some sectors (aquaculture, poultry meat processing) and limited investments in areas such as rural tourism indicate that the program's potential has not been fully utilized. The research findings suggest that regional development policies should be enhanced to encourage sectoral diversification and that special support mechanisms for disadvantaged groups should be strengthened.