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institutional structure and inadequate number of active farmers' organizations, 4) Partial and
scattered residential areas in some regions, 5) Inadequate protection and development of physical,
social and cultural infrastructure, 6) Substantial dependence on subsistence agriculture, 7) High
level of hidden unemployment and low income, 8) Migration of young people from rural areas to
urban areas and population aging, 9) Inadequacy of public services for rural areas, 10) Inadequate
non-agricultural economic activities to ensure good living conditions.
To address all of these problems, a serious approach change is needed in rural development
policies, and economic and social actors need to be re-planned holistically in line with sustainable
principles in order to ensure the well-being of people. In addition, it is important to ensure the
sustainability of resources, and to broaden participatory practices through a bottom-up approach in
decision-making and implementation processes. (5, p.35).
3. Historical Development of Rural Development Policies
in Turkey
In Turkey, rural development studies are generally divided into two main phases: before the
planned period and after the planned period. Before the planned period, it covers the period of
foundation of the Republic. In general, it is possible to consider these years as a debris removal and
reorganization period in terms of rural development. The agricultural structure, which has been
almost inoperable in the last years of the Ottoman Empire, has been regarded as an economic sector
and not an area where central needs have been met as it was in the priorities of the administrators of
this period, and efforts have been made to be an important element of general economic
development. In the planned period, studies have been carried out in order to ensure that the people
living in the rural areas primarily organize within the framework of volunteerism and cooperation
principles and to implement the rural development policies which will encourage them to work
jointly with the central administration. In this context, a period of "planned development" has been
initiated in order to increase efficiency and rationality in the economic and social activities to be
carried out by the public since 1960s. As a result of this understanding, it has been decided that the
activities and programs to be realized by the governments will be carried out in accordance with the
Five-Year Development Plans (FYDP). In the following periods, rural development, multi-
directional rural area planning and rural development projects were tried to be provided. (15, p.76)
4. Basic Policy Documents
on Rural Development
In Turkey, rural development policies are implemented within the framework of policy
documents that governments put forward. Different governments that came to power have generally
different priorities and approaches to rural development, as has been understood from the above,
different tools have been developed from the establishment of the Republic to the day. This situation
makes the implementation of sustainable agriculture and rural development policy difficult in Turkey.
The recent agriculture and rural development policies implemented in Turkey and planned to be
implemented are set out in the following documents: Preliminary National Development Plan (2004-
2006), Rural Development Plan (2010-2013), National Rural Development Strategy (2014-2020), Tenth
Development Plan (2014-2018), National Strategy for Regional Development (2014-2023)
Preliminary National Development Plan (PNDP) was prepared to establish a strategic
framework for the programming of pre-accession financial assistance to be provided during the
2004-2006 period in the context of economic and social cohesion within the EU-Turkey financial
cooperation framework in the EU accession process. In the Plan, a Strategy for Regional
Development at the National Level was put forward. Four pillar developments in the PNDP, which
is established in relation to Turkey's medium-term objectives and priorities, constitute the basis for
certain priorities within each axis. (Devlet Planlama Teşkilatı, Ön Ulusal Kalkınma Planı (2004-
2006), DPT Yayını, 2003.)
The National Rural Development Strategy, which was prepared by the State Planning
Organization with the participation of stakeholders related to the topic, especially Ministry of
Agriculture and Rural Affairs and approved by the High Planning Council in 2006, covers the
period of 2007-2013 and is the first official policy document for rural development in Turkey. (1, p.
45). The National Rural Development Strategy (NRDS-II) covering the period 2014-2020 includes
the coordination of the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (MFAL) under the relevant