Impact of Young Farmer Support Program for Livestock Enterprises

Authors : Duygu Çıtak Birol, Ferit Çobanoğlu, Halit Ahmet Akdemir, Halil İbrahim Yılmaz

Pages : 243-264

View : 40 | Download : 37

Publication Date : 2024-08-22

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :It is indispensable for young farmers to remain in agriculture and/or to sustain farm holding operations. In this study, the impact of the Young Farmer Support Program (YFSP) implemented in Turkey is tried to be define by the counterfactual impact assessment methodology in holdings with livestock such as cattle, sheep/goat. The study was conducted throughout Turkey, the questionnaire with the farmers was completed at the end of 2018. The data obtained intended for the YFSP, which was used in 2016, was taken as basis for the impact assessment. Considering the distribution and number of project subjects from each region, the provinces that would represent the region in terms of its differences were purposefully selected and sample selection was made. The focus is on two important outputs, machine equipment purchased value per livestock unit (LSU) and average income value of cattle and sheep/goat sold per LSU in the last three years which are important in the study. As explanatory variables, age, gender, marriage, educational status, number of family members, non-agricultural income, etc. are employed in the models. According to the two important indicators, Average Treatment Effect (ATE) and Average Treatment Effect on the Treated (ATET), it is revealed that YFSP has positive effects on the dependent variables examined in cattle and sheep / goat farms. This knowledge and accumulation of experience can be transferred to other main components of rural development programs.
Keywords : treatment effects, impact evaluation, young farmer, sustainability, counterfactual framework