Number of female farmers rises to 300,000 in Türkiye

ANKARA

Just in time for International Women's Day, Türkiye's agricultural scene blossoms with the empowerment of over 300,000 women farmers registered in the Farmer Registration System (ÇKS).

Amidst this growth, women entrepreneurs take the lead in cultivating plant production, cultivating not just crops, but a future of equality in agriculture.

The increase in productivity is closely tied to rural development, which in turn hinges on strengthening women's roles in production. According to recent data from the Agriculture Ministry, there are more than 2.3 million registered farmers in the ÇKS, with 300,509 of them being women.

Women in Türkiye benefit from the European Union's rural development aid mechanism, the IPARD funds. In the IPARD II period, 27 percent of the projects receiving payments for livestock production, 14 percent of projects for processing and marketing agricultural and fisheries products, and 39.6 percent of projects predominantly focused on plant production were prepared by women entrepreneurs.

To encourage greater participation of women in agricultural production, positive discrimination is applied in support and project evaluations. Female farmers who wish to invest in or require funding for their existing investments in livestock farming, disease-free animal husbandry, beekeeping, poultry sector, aquaculture sector, plant production and fruit cultivation are provided with an additional 15 percent interest support in addition to standard interest rate reductions.

According to ministry data, by the end of 2023, 58,654 women farmers were benefiting from low-interest agricultural loans. Under the Rural Development Investments Support Program (KKYDP), in 2023, 1,323 projects, including 1,288 for machinery and equipment, received a total of 80.7 million Turkish Liras ($2.5 million) in grant payments for women entrepreneurs. Additionally, under the Rural Expert Hands Project, 407 women entrepreneurs received 100.4 million liras in grant support in 2023, leading to investments totaling 117.2 million liras.