THE STATUS OF AGRICULTURAL EMPLOYMENT IN TURKEY AND SELECTED COUNTRIES AND THINGS TO DO

Abstract

In parallel with the rapid increase in the world population, the importance of the agricultural sector is increasing year by year. Along with this increasing importance, agriculture has attracted more attention from the scientific world and the public. The importance of agriculture has increased with the nutritional problem of the increasing population, the wars, global climate change, and the Covid-19 epidemic, and ultimately, the countries have reconsidered their agricultural strategies. Today, agriculture, which has become a very complex sector, has many inputs such as fertilizer and diesel, various chemicals (such as pesticides, and insecticides), energy, and agricultural land rents. Besides all these inputs, labor input, which will shape the sector's future, is the most important item. The welfare level of those involved in agricultural employment, agricultural added-value, and the labor-wage relationship are issues that should be emphasized in the stable development of the agricultural sector. Although agricultural employment constitutes a small proportion of general employment in developed countries, it is possible to talk about a profitable and stable structure for the agricultural sector with the high purchasing power and welfare level of the population subject to employment. On the other hand, in underdeveloped or developing countries, on the contrary, although the agricultural sector is the main employment area, the wages of workers are very low and remain well below the poverty line. For women and child workers in agriculture, this situation is much more problematic, and both being unregistered and being employed with much lower wages are the main problems. The agricultural employment situation in Türkiye, on the other hand, exhibits a similar structure to that of developing countries. The female workforce in agriculture is also at a disadvantage in Türkiye. In this study, the analysis of the subject was made with selected examples from developed, underdeveloped, and developing countries by using the data of TurkStat, TurkStat (Turkish Statistical Institute), FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization), ILOSTAT (International Labour Organization), and ITC (International Trade Centre). While making this analysis, Türkiye was compared with other countries, and as a result, the things to be done were listed.