Seed Sector in Turkey and Analysis of Sunflower Seed Purchasing Behaviour of Farmers: Example of Thrace Region

Abstract

Selection of suitable seed in agriculture has great importance in terms of scarce resources and efficient use of facilities. Efficient use of inputs has been one of the key objectives of agricultural policies in all over the world. Therefore, studies continue about production of new seeds with high yield and resist to diseases. The 66.7% of the total seed production in Turkey are met by the private sector (hybrid sunflower, corn, potato, soybean, cotton and vegetable seed). And 53.4% of the total sunflowers in Turkey are grown in Thrace region. It is therefore appropriate to be selected as the research area. In this regard, the aim of this study was to examine the dynamics in seed sector and particularly investigate the sunflower seed purchasing behavior of farmers with special attention to Thrace region. As a methodology, 198 questionnaires which pursued sunflower farm activities in the region were utilized. As a result of the descriptive statistics, it could be concluded that almost 20% of seed supply in Turkey is imported and that 70%-80% of it is directly used as an “input” for growing vegetative products and the remaining is used as “intermediate goods” for growing “certified seeds” for domestic or international markets.