Analysis of the Effects of Environmental Factors on Rural Rice Producers in the Context of Gender: Çeltikdere Case Study in Turkey

Despite the increasing need for food parallel to the increasing population, Turkey is a country where agricultural production is gradually declining as a result of erroneous agricultural policies that are carried out in rural areas. This is exacerbated through the effects of climate change. From all these dynamics, women are affected the most in rural areas. Rice is an important species that meets the carbohydrate needs of the growing population. In rice production, women participate more actively in the workforce than men and have a lot of local knowledge about production. This study discusses the case of Celtikdere village, which produces rice in Bolu province. During the research process, qualitative techniques were used, and the dynamics of rice production and regular emigration from rural areas were discussed in focus groups from a gender perspective. The results show that while women are more active in the labor force in the intensive periods of rice production, in today's declining production conditions, gender roles have a more egalitarian structure and production is made by both sexes, however, product sales and land management decisions are still male-dominated. As a result of the study, it is observed that the producers in Celtikdere village experienced the effects of climate change with droughts and floods, but the most intense effect was due to the loss of water resources with 2 HEPPs established on the stream feeding the village in 2013. Climate change and energy projects are taking the power of managing local resources away from women.