Socio-economic description
The Karapınar study site has a total surface area of 156 km2 comprising 4 small villages ("oba" in Turkish) together with a part of the erosion control area and a forbidden military zone. Villages have been mostly inhabited temporarily during the intense agricultural activity season from May to September in the last 20-30 years. Most of the inhabitants live in the remaining cold seasons in the Karapınar town, a relatively populated settlement (ca 30.000 people).
Of the 80 women interviewed, 65 percent of women graduated from primary school. Twenty-seven percent of women are illiterate. Three women did not complete primary school but are literate. Three percent of the women graduated from secondary school. Moreover, the number of women who have a high school degree is also 3. Of the 80 men reached with the questionnaire, 73 % graduated from primary school. The number of men who did not complete primary school but are literate is 6. On the other hand, six men are illiterate. There are only four men who graduated from secondary school. Moreover, there are only five men who have a high school degree. There is only one man who graduated from university.
Annual household income of the study site farmers is mostly very low. More than 50 % of the population survives below the hunger limits. Farmers with reasonable incomes make up 25 % of the total. Only 7 % of the farmers, probably large field owners, do gain annually up to 5.000 Є.
| Ann. income range (NTL)* | 900-999 | 1000-4999 | 5.000-9.999 | 10.000-19.999 | 20.000-25.000 | 30.000-40.000 | 70.000-126.000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % of population | 37 | 15 | 9 | 24 | 8 | 4 | 3 |
* 1NTL (New Turkish Lira)=0.5 Є (May 2008)
The farmers in the region mainly make their living from partial support of crop production for cash, backed up by animal feeding since none of these activities are generally economic alone. To confirm this, of the 78 households we interviewed, 85 % of farmers sustain their livelihood from livestock as well as agriculture.
Wind erosion, accompanied with drought and lowering of groundwater levels accompanied with economy-politics adversely affect crop production, increase input costs and hence raising poverty and economic-social unrest.
Of the 78 households interviewed, 33 % of the farmers see their living conditions as being better than in the past. However, the majority of them (54 %) evaluate the situation as quite the opposite, saying that their lives are worst than past. Thirteen percent of the farmers said that their living conditions were the same. Again a majority of the farmers (66%) think that the coming years will be worse than the past.
Under the existing conditions, exploitation of land resources is maximal though villagers have a deep insight in the cause and effect of degradation phenomena. No apparent measures have been taken with respect to wind erosion by farmers themselves. Meadows are still under ultimate exploitation without any future perspective and legislative restructuring. Main drivers behind these apparent adverse situations are the market pressure that is so fluctuating and unstable. As our workshops showed, the level of education among farmers inherited from a period 20-30 years ago is surprisingly high for a sustainable agricultural activity. But, information for the local people about newer agricultural techniques, of whatever kind, by governmental organizations is almost absent. Receiving bank credits is always long and wearisome process.
