Abstract
Purpose: To determine the factors affecting the entrepreneurial decisions of women farmers who produce crop in irrigable lands in Bayındır district of Izmir.
Desing/Methodology/Approach: The research data were obtained with proportional sampling from 81 women farmers using a survey method. In the analysis of the data, first of all, the socio-economic characteristics of the women farmers were revealed. Then, annual activity results were analyzed. The five-point Likert scale was used to evaluate the knowledge level of women farmers about entrepreneurship, the factors they attach importance to, future trends and expectations. In the study, the criteria that women farmers attach importance to in their entrepreneurship decisions were analyzed using the Fuzzy Paired Comparison Method.
Findings: The average age of women farmers is 49.91 years, their average education period is 6.72 years, and their average agricultural experience is 20.15 years. The average land size is 14.20 decares and consists of 2.45 parcels. 63.17% of the lands are owned lands. Average net income from crop production per decare has been calculated as 1712.73 TL. 73% of the women farmers think that they have sufficient knowledge about entrepreneurship. On the other hand, the majority of them state that they have not received training in entrepreneurship and show the main source of information on this subject as the social environment. 87.65% of women farmers benefit from their own knowledge and experience in their agricultural production decisions. The willingness to contribute to household income, independence, and willingness to succeed play an important role in the entrepreneurship decision of women farmers. It has been determined that the most important criteria in their entrepreneurship decisions for women farmers are family structure and social environment.
Originality/Value: The understanding of entrepreneurship, which has been developing rapidly since the 1980s, has also been in the interest of women. With the increase in the number of women