Proceedings: 1st International Conference on Food and Agricultural Economics: RECENT CHANGES IN AGRICULTURAL SUPPORTS AND THEIR POSSIBLE EFFECTS ON AGRICULTURAL SECTOR

Agricultural sector that’s effected by natural conditions largely is facing with many problems related to production, marketing, price formation and agricultural income. Because of these problems, price mechanism acting as a bridge between producers and consumers cannot work efficiently. The reason is that agricultural products demand’s and supply’s showing different specifications in comparison with the other sections. As is known, price and income elasticities of the demand for agricultural products are considerably low. As for the supply for agricultural products, it is effected by natural conditions largely and responds to prices with delay because of their structural specifications. Changes arising year after year in production with a rigid demand whose elasticity is low fluctuate the prices of agricultural products largely. Fluctuations in prices effect the sectors using agricultural products as inputs, the share of agricultural products in consumer budget, exports of them and producers’ incomes. For this reason, government intervened in the markets of agricultural products for years. Intervention of the government to the agricultural products market occured in the way of indirect and direct interventions. Indirect interventions could be in the forms of given input support (like diesel oil, fertilizer), determined cultivation area or output quantity. As for the direct interventions, they are the price subsidy and price support interventions like the premium system and direct payment. Along with the universal problems of agricultural sector, there are specific problems of each country. Therefore, the agricultural policies implemented in all countries have been towards solution of problems regarding their own agricultural sector. In Turkey, although the weight of agriculture in the economy (6,9% in 2015) have been falling gradually, because it contains one fifth of the ones who are employed (20,6% in 2015) and some part of the population, it has been a sector which has been attached importance since the foundation of the republic. But, significant changes occurred in both agricultural structure and policies in various periods in Turkey. On the changes of agricultural policies, external guidance of World Trade Organization, European Union, International Monetary Fund and World Bank played an effective role, as well as that of internal dynamics of the country. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the changes in agricultural policies of Turkey, the causes lying behind these changes and the effects created/will be created by changes in agricultural policies on the agricultural sector of Turkey. In this direction, first of all, the position of agricultural sector in the economy in Turkey, its structure and the problems on this area will be mentioned, after that, agricultural policies and especially the agricultural support policies wil be addressed. Finally, the changes that will take place with “National Agricultural Policy” which has become actual by 2017 will be analyzed.