Analysis of Opinions and Expectations of Farmers in Efeler District of Aydın Province on the Effects of Urbanization

The aim of this study is to determine the opinions and expectations of the farmers on the effects of urbanization on agriculture in Efeler district of Aydın province. For this purpose, six of the villages that have gained the status of neighborhoods, which are around 10 km from the city center, have been selected for purpose. The data of the research was compiled by proportional sampling and survey method from 73 farmers. In the analysis of the research data, firstly the socio-economic characteristics of the farmers were examined and then the opinions and expectations of the farmers about the effects of urbanization on agriculture were revealed. Five-point Likert scale was used in the analysis of opinions and expectations. According to the results of the research, the average age of the farmers is 54.97 years and the average education period is 7.68 years. The average land size of the farmers is 73.01 decares and the average number of parcels is 3.42. When the farmers are asked about the changes and expectations of urbanization; 68.49% thought that their agricultural production was not affected at all, 91.78% thought that their agricultural income never changed, 80.82% thought that the agricultural land sales frequency increased, 95.89% thought that the agricultural land prices increased, 64.38% thought that urbanization could not prevent migration, 58.90% thought that urbanization may affect young farmers negatively. In Turkey, urbanization policies and other regulations should not adversely affect the agricultural structure and should be arranged in a way that does not exclude farmers from agriculture.