The Effects of Land Fragmentation on Hazelnut Farming in Türkiye: Environmental, Economic, and Policy Perspectives

Land fragmentation is a critical problem that threatens the economic and environmental sustainability of hazelnut farms. The aim of the study was to assess the economic and environmental effects of land fragmentation on hazelnut farming in Türkiye. The primary data for the study were collected through face-to-face questionnaires from 121 randomly sampled hazelnut farms. The partial budgeting analysis method was used to estimate the economic performance of the hazelnut farms. The environmental impact of land fragmentation in hazelnut farming was assessed using the life cycle assessment (LCA) method. The study revealed that the average production cost per hectare was US$ 1834.0 in fragmented farms, compared to US$ 1661.2 in non-fragmented farms. The hazelnut production cost per kilogram in the fragmented farms was 20.18% higher than in non-fragmented farms. The higher share of variable costs in the total production costs of fragmented farms was due to increased hired labor costs. Economic performance indicators, including GDP, gross profit, net profit, and relative profit, were lower in fragmented farms compared to non-fragmented farms. The LCA results showed that hazelnut production emitted 618.60 kg of CO_2-eq of greenhouse gas (GHG) per hectare in 1 year. Additionally, producing 1 kg of hazelnuts emitted 0.4495 kg CO_2-eq of GHG emissions. For non-fragmented farms, the GHG emissions per kilogram of hazelnuts were 0.4780 kg CO_2-eq, while in fragmented farms, it was 0.5342 kg CO_2-eq. This represented an 11.74% increase in GHG emissions for fragmented farms. The significantly lower GHG emissions in non-fragmented farms were mainly due to differences in chemical fertilization and farm manure application. In contrast, fragmented farms showed a larger machinery-related contribution and a more pronounced impact of diesel usage on emissions. The study concluded that addressing land fragmentation on hazelnut farms would enhance their economic performance. GHG emissions can be mitigated by improving agricultural practices, optimizing machinery and fuel use, enhancing chemical management, reevaluating farm structures, and raising climate change awareness.