The target audience for the development of Turkish agriculture should be small and medium-sized enterprises (*)

The memory of those living in cities in Turkey for yearshas held that the solution for salvation in agriculturelies in small and medium-sized enterprises based on familylaborforce, particularly for thoseinstead of enterprises, big farminghas taken its place where it is deemed necessary.

Corporate farming and contractfarming models have beenpromoted.

With the policies pursued, thesmall and medium-sized enterprises with whichfamilyfarming is carriedout are beingdestroyed has beenworked on.

With this model, on one hand, a continuous market has been createdfor inputs such as industrial seeds, pesticides, and chemical fertilizers,and on the other hand, farmers have been made dependent on them.Large agricultural enterprises have processed andmarketed their products.

With this situation, multinational companies have placed developing countries in a social and politicalit has also been made possible for them to be easily audited from the outside.

What happened with the corporate farming model policies?

In rural regions, it became inevitable for small and medium-sizedfarms based on family labor to suffer damage. Family farmingresources used forandthe resources used andsmallenterprises, cooperatives that bring them to market were seen as useless.seen as.

Family farming, (sin essence) were evaluated as factors that disrupt the balance of the free market economy.evaluated.

Family farmingsmallenterprisesto support and unite small enterprises and cooperativesthe necessary workefforts were not made.

Peasantry was looked down upon and belittled.

As a result, agricultural production by Family Farmingwas left abandoned; these enterprises were brought to a state where they could not sustain their existence and cPeople living inruralareas were forced tomigrateto cities.

These people who came to the cities could not find jobs in the industrial and servicesectors,nor could they obtain adequate health, education, and housing opportunities. At the same time, cities were faced with more people than they could handle, and their structures changed. In short, ruralFamily businesses existing in theregions have reached the point of near-total extinction.

However, thesituation has reacheda breaking point. The desire to destroy familyfarming is not just in Turkey as wellnot, ithas triggered the danger of hunger existing in the worldand it has been understood that natural resources are about to bedestroyed.

In this context, as it is inTurkey,it as well as in the world, the greatestweaknessof agriculturestems from policiesthat are not in favor of family farming, but rather in favor of giant agricultural enterprises controlled by agricultural and food corporations.

Its second weakness, is the powerlessness of farmers' organizationsisthe director.

In the Developmentof Turkish Agriculture, Why Should the Target ASmall and Medium-Sized Enterprises Should Be?

The target audience for the development ofTurkish agriculture should be small and medium-sized/peasant enterprisesenterprises should be.

There are two reasons for this.

The first is thatthey make up thevast majority.

The second is that the industrial agriculture practiced this stems from them being the most suitable model against the negative conditions that arise.

As is the case globally, in Turkey, small and medium-sized, or in other words, peasant enterprisesinstead of enterprises, the prioritizationof giant enterprises is based oneconomies of scale.

In economies of scale, labor productivityis taken into account.

However, the real issue that should be considered is total factor productivity.

Total factor productivity is found by dividing the value added or net income, evaluated at social opportunity costs, by the total of production factors.In peasantenterprises, labor is more abundant and cheaper. Since land and capital are also less available compared to

largeenterprises,thefocus should be on these smaller units.have higher factor productivity compared toothers. This iswhy peasantenterprises choose labor-intensive vegetable and fruit farming as well as livestockfarming.

Forexample, in thepastWhen there is a crisis in dairy cattle farming, those that shut down have primarily been large enterprises. Peasant enterprises, while reducing their livestock numbers, have continued their productiare.

It is known that in Turkey, agriculturalinputs privatization, and the evaluation of the farmer's producehave been supported with a focus on subsidies. However, regarding these supports, that will increase social welfare in rural areas and reduce the rural-urban divide solutions have not emerged.

What is the Most Significant Mistake Made in Subsidies?

This is basedon two main reasonsIt is possible tosay: The most significant mistake made in subsidies (can it even be called a mistake?)

First; the structuralnature of businesses in Turkey due to the failure to take into account thecharacteristics.

Instead of small andmedium-sized enterprises,which make up the vastmajority of businesses,support and other resources are being directed elsewhere.large enterprises have been used in the direction of their creation.

The second is that; small farmers' supports have remained at the premium level. The state has provided premiumsand industrialists alsopurchase priceshavedrivendownthe.

In this conIn this context, the organization of farmers has been neglected,and their becoming industrialists through cooperatives they have established or will establish has been neglected (or was it intentional?).

How Should Subsidies Be Structured?

Instead of premiums in subsidies, in order for the farmer to receive a good price, otherThe state should intervenein the market for two main purposes.

One of theseas mentioned, concerns strategically determinedagricultural productsin question.

Another toolcould be to providefinancialsupport forcooperative procurement, or for example, mandarin to ensure that the producerdoes not become destitute and fall into the hands of intermediaries,itcould alsobe in the form of providing credit to cooperativesto establish sufficient cold storagefacilities in theregions.

(*) I am sharing the views of my esteemed colleague Prof. Dr. Tayfun Özkayain his article dated December 16, 2025, titled "Is Sencer Solakoğlu the CHP's ModelFarmer?"regardinghis opinions.

This model, in the most optimistic interpretation, as I mentioned at the beginning of my article, in the memory of those who have been livingfor years in Turkey, especially in cities,the idea that salvation in agriculture for the solution, family labor-based small and medium-sized enterprises instead of large-scale farming has stemmed from the perception that it is necessary.

However, in Turkey, agriculAgricul tural production islargely carried out byfamily-labor-based small and medium-sized enterprises.

Then why as a role model Has Sencer Solakoğlu been taken?

Because family labor-based small and medium-sized enterprises' voices are very weak, and they have almost no organizations andthe views of the writers who have defended them for yearsarenot taken into account by the parties.

I hope that Sencer Solakoğlu, through their organization, will to some extentvoice their interests.