Expectations and Challenges of Small Ruminant Enterprises Regarding Agricultural Extension and Advisory Services: A Case Study of Van Province, Türkiye

Abstract

The primary aim of this study is to assess the level of satisfaction of small ruminant farmers benefiting from Agricultural Extension and Advisory Services and to identify the challenges they face, their expectations, and their suggestions for improvement. This study was conducted on 58 small ruminant enterprises located in the İpekyolu, Gürpınar, Tuşba, Edremit, and Gevaş districts of the Van province, Türkiye. The inclusion criteria for the study were that the enterprises must be engaged in small ruminant breeding and actively utilize Agricultural Extension and Advisory Services. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews with enterprise owners using a structured survey with 55 questions. The primary objective of this research is to identify the expectations of these enterprises from consultancy services and the challenges encountered during this process. According to the research findings, younger enterprise owners utilize these services less frequently. The majority of the participants (%46.55) were primary school graduates. In terms of herd size, 37.93% of the enterprises owned 201 or more heads of livestock, while another 37.93% owned between 101 and 200 heads. The study revealed high levels of satisfaction, with 84.48% of the owners being "very satisfied" and 13.79% being "satisfied" with the services provided. Animal health and vaccination practices were identified as the leading areas of support received under the scope of the service (37.93%). Regarding the competence of service providers, 89.66% of the owners stated that the consultants were highly qualified, and all participants (100%) expressed that the consultants allocated sufficient time to them. The most frequently requested support areas by breeders were grants and subsidy applications (63.79%), followed by animal diseases (18.97%), agricultural mechanization (12.07%), and innovation in agricultural activities (5.17%). In conclusion, while small ruminant enterprises are generally satisfied with the Agricultural Extension and Advisory Services, it is recommended that these services be further expanded and strengthened.

Keywords

• Expectations
• challenges
• livestock
• agricultural extension
• consultancy service

Ethical Statement

KARAR NO 2025/17-05. Yürütücülüğünü Ziraat Fakültesi, Hayvan Yetiştirme ve Islahı Anabilim Dalı öğretim üyesi Dr. Öğr. Üyesi Hasan ÇELİKYÜREK’in yapmayı tasarladığı, "Van İli Küçükbaş Hayvancılık İşletmelerinin Tarımsal Yayım ve Danışmanlık Hizmetlerinden Beklentileri ve Çözüm Önerileri” adlı çalışmasının, ilgili kurumlardan izin almak ve kişisel hak ve hürriyetler kanununa dikkat edilmesi kaydıyla, Fen ve Mühendislik Etik Kuralları ve İlkeleri çerçevesinde herhangi bir sakınca olmadığına toplantıya katılan üyelerin oy birliğiyle karar verilmiştir.

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