Organizations and Activities of a New Leading Farmer Extension Model in Turkey

Abstract

With this study, the organization and the activities of four leading farmer association established in Thrace Region of Turkey in 1986, in the center of Tekirdag and in Muratli, Corlu and Malkara districts of Tekirdag, were discussed as the result of the common studies between Turkish Agricultural Chamber Union (TZOB) and German agriculture unit (Deutsche Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft, DLG), German Agricultural Technical Cooperation (Gesellschaft für Technische Zuzammenarbeit, GTZ) that the German Agricultural Ministry (Bundes Ministerium für Wirtschaffliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung, BMZ) commission. The results according to the observation are determined every year by the management committee in leading farmer associations and the other organs. In a very democratic method and environment although the managements in Turkey have a hierarchy order. The highest organ of the association is the general committee (members). The management committee gives importance to the information flow between farmer adviser and the members and the appointment of the farmer adviser and the income-expense of the association and auto control is so powerful in the structure of the association. The most important problem is the leavie of the farmer adviser specialized in the communication with the farmers with the leader farmer associations for the attractive salary offers of the private sectors. For this reason, employing new farmer adviser to leader farmer associations, at least two years affect the publishing activities of the leader farmers negatively. Application of the individual and group training by only the leader farmer associations among the farmer associations in Turkey and at the same time the encouragement of the member farmers to the congress and conferences, growing new products, making of the trial and demonstrations successfully in spite of the current conditions in Turkey play an important role in the extension of the reforms of the leader farmer project in the rural region.