Women Labor Force Participation and Impact on Business Decisions in Hazelnut Production Enterprises: The Case Study of Samsun Province, Turkey

This study aimed to investigate the participation of women in labor on hazelnut farms and their involvement in technical and economical decisions about the farm. The data were collected from 72 farms engaged in hazelnut cultivation in Çarşamba and Terme districts of Samsun province located in the Central Black Sea Region of Turkey in 2019. The average farm area was 33.67 decares, of which 55.90% was devoted to hazelnut growing. The most important reason for farmers to prefer hazelnut in their farms was that it was more profitable than alternative products with 73.61%. Other important reasons were the guarantee of purchase (54.70%), and the ease of long-term storage (47.22%). The average number of family members on the farms was 4.57, of which 52.95% were females. Women engaged in most agricultural activities, especially in hazelnut harvesting. Women carry out 50.91% of the labor activities with their spouses, 21.82% by themselves, 14.55% with their children, and 12.72% with their sisters in law, fathers-in-law or mothers-in-law. The women in farms are more effective in decisions such as; products to be grown, the use of fertilizers, and the sale of livestock. Although 36.70% of the labor of hazelnut cultivation is female labor, the involvement of women in credit use, marketing, and agricultural education activities is quite low. It is important to carry out projects aimed at raising womens’ awareness to increase their influence in the family and to promote greater participation in the process of making farm decisions. In this way, instead of accepting the roles that the society attributes to them, rural women will be actively involved in economic decisions related to the business as well as in social life.

Abstract licence: CC BY-NC-ND

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