Input use and production cost in rice cultivation in Turkey

O. Gaytancioglu^a and H. Sürek^b

^a Trakya University, Agricultural Faculty, Department of Agricultural Economy, Tekirdag, Turkey;
^b Thrace Agricultural Research Institute, Edirne, Turkey

INTRODUCTION

Although all geographical regions in Turkey are ecologically suitable for rice cultivation, and grain yield per unit area is higher than the world average, the country's rice production does not satisfy domestic demand. In Turkey, rice consumption started to increase in the second half of 1980 and reached about 6 kg per caput in recent years. Rice production decreased drastically over the same period, owing to two factors: drought between 1985 and 1994, which caused a shortage of irrigation water; and the lifting or reduction of measures to protect against rice imports (e.g. in the form of taxes) in 1984, which led to low-cost imports of rice. Farmers in some regions abandoned rice cultivation because of both a shortage of irrigation water and high production costs, which exceeded the price of rice imports. Rice imports have therefore increased in the last decade, from about 30 000 tonnes per year in the early 1980s to more than 200 000 tonnes per year in recent years (Sürek, 1998). According to data for 1997, more than 50 percent of rice consumption is supplied by imports from abroad (Gaytancioglu, 1997). Rice is imported from the United States, Egypt, Italy, Spain and Thailand, among other countries.

The objectives of this article are to examine the use of inputs and determine production costs at the farmer level in the rice growing regions.

Material

The data for this study were collected from primary and secondary sources. In order to find out the dimensions and the characteristics of rice farming in the regions concerned, information was gathered from rice growers throughout the country and used as the primary data source for the research. The majority of the information was gathered from farmers through direct interview. The published literature on rice production, consumption and economics was utilized as the source of secondary data. Additional data were produced by various State organizations such as the State establishment that buys agricultural crops from farmers (TMO), the State Statistics Institute (DIE) and the Ministry of Agriculture.

Methods

In 1996, the Turkish rice growing area covered 54 499 ha (DIE, 1997). The research was conducted in the rice growing areas of Edirne, Samsun, Çorum, Sinop, Kastamonu, Balikesir, Çanakkale, Diyarbakir and Mardin provinces during 1996. These provinces accounted for 91.3 percent of the total growing area and 92.7 percent of rice production in 1996. Information about farmer numbers and growing area was taken from the extension service of each province in order to calculate the appropriate number of samples to take from the rice farmers. The study was conducted in the Thrace, south Marmara, Black Sea and Southeastern Anatolia regions.

With the exception of Edirne, farm sizes in each of the provinces included in this research varied. Thus, simple random sampling was used in Edirne and layered sampling in the other provinces. The research was carried out in 56 village areas in Edirne and 42 in the other provinces. According to 1996 data, Edirne alone contains 42 percent of Turkey's total rice production area, the other provinces included in the study accounting for another 49 percent. Three rice producers were taken from each district, and a total of 294 farmers in 98 districts answered the questionnaires.

A database was created in the Excel program to analyse the data obtained from the 294 questionnaires. After the data had been inserted into computers, they were assessed at the regional level. Thus, it was possible to make a separate interpretation for each region. Real rice production costs were calculated for each village and farm and classified by region and farm size.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The data obtained through the questionnaires were analysed under such subheadings as agricultural input use, labour use, rice marketing cost, production cost and problems of rice production.

Agricultural input use

Seed. In general, farmers use domestically produced seed. The seed rate is 120 to 130 kg/ha in southeastern Anatolia and 180 to 200 kg/ha in the other regions. As shown in Table 1, Baldo and Rocca varieties are grown in the Thrace and South Marmara regions, and Ribe, Krasnodarsky 424 and Serhat 92 varieties in the Black Sea region.

Farmers exchange seed for certified seed every three years, although some have difficulties in obtaining certified seed, so obtain their seed from neighbouring farms.

Fertilizer. There were great differences among the regions in terms of fertilizer use. For example, while diammonium phosphate and urea fertilizers were used in the Black Sea region and 20.20.0, 15.15.15 compound and ammonium nitrate were applied in South Marmara, ammonium sulphate, ammonium nitrate and 20.20.0 compound fertilizers were used in Thrace. The majority of farmers in Southeastern Anatolia do not apply fertilizer.

Rates of nitrogen ferilizer applied were found to differ greatly from recommended rates (Table 2). In Thrace and the Black Sea regions, twice the recommended dosage was applied. This creates problems with lodging and poor grain quality, increases production costs and has adverse effects on the national economy and the environment.

Herbicide. In general, three kinds of herbicides - monilate, thiobencarb and propanil - are used in rice cultivation in Turkey. The recommended and applied doses of herbicide are given in Table 3. Farmers apply thiobencarb and propanil at the recommended rates, but there were great differences between recommended and applied doses for monilate. Amounts of herbicide applied varied among the regions, and none are used for rice cultivation in Southeastern Anatolia. High dosages of herbicide increase production costs and cause environmental pollution.

Credit requirement

In Turkey, cultivation of rice is more costly than that of many other crops and farmers need to have access to credit throughout the process from land preparation to harvest. According to the results of this study, 88.6 percent of rice farmers use credit, but 92.4 percent of credit users stated that the credit they received was not sufficient. As shown in Table 4, the majority of farmers need credit to supply such inputs as seed, fertilizer and herbicide, as well as for soil preparation and planting. Credit is less necessary at harvesting than at other periods.

Labour use

Rice farming also needs more labour input than other crops. Machinery is less widely used in rice cultivation than for other crops in Turkey, and labour is employed throughout the production cycle from soil preparation to harvest (Table 5). Family labour is used for planting and fertilizer and herbicide application in all rice growing regions. Since farm size was smaller in the Black Sea and Southeastern Anatolia regions than in Thrace and South Marmara, family labour was used more extensively than hired labour in these regions. More hired than family labour was employed in Thrace and South Marmara.

Machinery use

According to the research results, 47 percent of the farmers surveyed had access to machinery that was suitable for rice cultivation (Table 6). The proportion of farmers using machinery varies among the regions, from more than 55 percent in Thrace and South Marmara, 30 percent in the Black Sea region, to no machinery use in Southeastern Anatolia.

Rotation in rice cultivation

The recommended rotation system in rice cultivation is for two or three years of rice and two years of the other crop. However, the results of the study showed that rice was cultivated without rotation for long periods in the same fields (Table 7). The Black Sea region had the longest average rotation time (24 years); in some areas, rice has been grown for 40 years in the same fields and the rotation time varies between three and 40 years in this region. Southeastern Anatolia had the second longest average rotation time (17 years).

The following are reasons for not applying rotation:

• Rice is a high-income crop in irrigated areas.
• It is difficult and expensive to convert fields from rice to other crops.
• Rice is a more profitable crop in fields where there are salinity and alkalinity problems.

Rice production cost

Rice production costs were determined for all villages included in the 1996 study. The costs for 1 kg of rough rice were calculated, as well as the share of each input in the total (Table 8).

Land rent accounted for the greatest share of production costs, ranging from 24.1 to 38.8 percent among the regions. In Turkey, only a limited area of land is suitable for rice cultivation and many farmers are eager to produce rice, which results in increased demand for rice fields and expensive land rents.

Rice production costs were lowest in South Marmara (US$0.30/kg) with Thrace and the Black Sea regions following at $0.33/kg. Southeastern Anatolia had the highest production costs because of a low grain yield per hectare. Rice production cost varies depending on farm size and is higher on small farms than on larger farms (Table 9).

Rice marketing

In general, millers and TMO buy the rice crop from the farmers as rough rice. After processing in the milling factory, they sell it on the food market as milled rice. Some farmers have their rough rice milled in the processing factory and sell it on the market themselves as milled rice (Table 10).

Millers buy most rough rice (67.7 percent), followed by TMO. Millers have a significant influence on determining the market price for rough rice. TMO buys rough rice to subsidize farmers during harvesting; the government determines the subsidy price.

Most farmers sell their crop just after harvesting, although some store it for a few months to sell when prices are higher. In general, small farms sell their crops during harvesting, because they need cash for paying credit on debts and for other family expenditures. The owners of large farms may store some of their crop for three to five months.

Reasons for growing rice

Although some farmers are not satisfied with the rice price determined by the government, they have continued to grow rice. The reasons for this are that their fields have been prepared to grow rice and rice has a higher gross income per unit area than alternative crops.

Farmers were asked to give their reasons for cultivating rice and their answers are given in Table 11.

Overall, 63.7 percent of rice farmers in Turkey are satisfied with the gross income from rice. Other farmers are not happy with their incomes from rice, but continue to grow it because their fields are prepared for rice cultivation and their equipment is only suitable for rice farming. To switch to other crops would be very difficult owing to the high investment costs involved.

Compared with other irrigated crops, rice has a higher net profit per unit area, as shown in Table 12. Sugar beet follows.

Problems of rice production

The results of this study show that the most important problems faced in rice cultivation are:

• water shortage;
• low price of imported rice;
• use of expensive and costly inputs;
• unprofitable rice prices.

Farmers considered that the most significant problem in rice production was its use of expensive and costly inputs. However, they tend to use excessive doses of such inputs as fertilizer and herbicide, which aggravates the situation (Table 13).

The second most important problem was the low price of imported rice. Domestic production costs were higher than the prices of imported rice, so it was very difficult to compete with imported rice. Farmers may not sell their rice at the desired or expected price as a result of competition.

Another constraint was water shortage; the rice growing area in Turkey fluctuates according to the amount of irrigation water that is available. Rice is grown under continuous irrigation with full water control and can suffer from drought or water shortage owing to other causes, which include farmers sowing rice over too wide an area when the rice price is very high and rice is profitable but there is insufficient irrigation water for good growth, and low water accumulation in dams or reduced flow from rivers owing to low rainfall.

Farmers perceive rice as a highly profitable crop and spend a lot of money to produce it, so they always expect to sell rice at a high price. Although 22.2 percent of producers considered that rice was not profitable, it is still a high-income crop in some irrigated areas, and often there is no alternative.

CONCLUSIONS

The study found that there are great differences among the regions in terms of fertilizer use. In general, farmers apply nitrogen in excessive dosages, far in excess of the recommended rate. They also use high rates of herbicides. These increase production costs and create environmental problems. Rice production in Turkey is more costly than for many other crops, so the majority of rice farmers need credit from the soil preparation stage to harvest. Machinery is not used as widely in rice cultivation as for other crops in Turkey, and only 47.6 percent of farmers have suitable equipment for rice farming. Thus, labour is employed from soil preparation to harvest. Family labour is used in all rice growing regions. The recommended rotation system is two to three years of rice and two years of the other crop, but the results of the study show that rice is cultivated without rotation for long periods in the same field.

South Marmara region has the cheapest rice production cost (US$0.30/kg), followed by Thrace and the Black Sea regions at $0.33/kg. Because of low grain yield per hectare, the most expensive production cost was found in Southeastern Anatolia. Millers and TMO buy most of the rice crop from farmers as rough rice. Some farmers have their rough rice milled at the processing factory and then sell it on the market as milled rice. In Turkey, 63.8 percent of rice farmers are satisfied with the gross income from rice. Some of those who are not happy with it continue to grow rice because their fields are prepared for rice cultivation and their equipment is only suitable for rice farming. Rice brings higher net profits than other irrigated crops.

The results of this research show that the most important problems faced in rice cultivation are water shortage, low imported rice price, expensive or costly input use, and unprofitable rice prices. As a result, the rice growing area in Turkey is fluctuating.

REFERENCES

DIE. 1997. Agricultural Statistics. Ankara, Turkey.

Gaytancioglu, O. 1997. The evaluation of production, price and market policies applied on paddy in
Turkey. Trakya University, Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Edirne, Turkey. (Ph.D. thesis)

Government of Turkey. 1998. Paddy and rice foreign trade '98. Ankara, Turkey, Prime Ministry Undersecretariat of Foreign Trade.

Ministry of Agriculture. 1997. Rice area and production data of the provinces. Ankara, Turkey, General Directorate of Agricultural Production and Development.

Sürek, H. 1998. Rice production and research activities in Turkey. IRC Newsletter, 47: 29-35.

Turkey Agricultural Association Federation. 1997. Agricultural and Economics Report,1994-1996. Ankara, Turkey.

Yücer, M.M. 1995. Agricultural chemicals. TISIT Association.

Utilisation des intrants et coûts de la production dans la culture du riz en Turquie

En Turquie, la production de riz ne permet pas de satisfaire la consommation du pays, qui a récemment augmenté pour s'établir à 6 kg par habitant. La diminution de la production de riz est liée à la sécheresse, qui a sévi de 1985 à 1994, et qui a entraîné une pénurie d'eau d'irrigation, ainsi qu'aux prix avantageux du riz importé. Le présent document étudie l'utilisation d'intrants et détermine le coût de la production au niveau des exploitations. Les données ont été rassemblées à partir de sources directes et indirectes. La production du riz est plus coûteuse que celle de nombreuses autres cultures. En général, les agriculteurs utilisent trop d'azote, et l'on note un écart important entre les quantités recommandées et celles appliquées; ils utilisent aussi trop de désherbants, ce qui influe sur les coûts de la production et porte atteinte à l'environnement. La mécanisation n'est pas aussi développée que pour les autres cultures, et seulement 47,6 pour cent des exploitants disposent de l'outillage nécessaire. Ainsi, la plupart des riziculteurs ont toujours besoin de crédits pour la préparation du sol et la récolte, et la main- d'_uvre familiale est utilisée dans toutes les zones de riziculture. La rotation des cultures, prévoyant la substitution du riz tous les deux ou trois ans par une autre culture, et ce pendant deux ans, n'a pas été suivie, et le riz a été cultivé sans interruption pendant de nombreuses années sur la même parcelle. Le Marmara du Sud est la région où les coûts de production sont les plus faibles (0,30 dollar EU/kg), suivie par la Thrace et la région de la mer Noire avec 0,33 dollar EU/kg. En général, le riz entraîne des gains plus élevés que les autres cultures irriguées et environ 63,8 pour cent des riziculteurs turcs sont satisfaits des revenus bruts découlant de la culture du riz. Certains agriculteurs continuent aussi à cultiver du riz parce que leurs champs ont été préparés pour cette culture, et que leur outillage ne peut être utilisé que pour le riz. Toutefois, les variations de la superficie cultivée en riz dans le pays sont dues surtout à la pénurie d'eau et, dans une moindre mesure, aux prix réduits du riz d'importation et aux coûts élevés de la production.

Empleo de insumos y costo de producción del arroz en Turquía

En Turquía, la producción de arroz no es suficiente para el consumo interno, que aumentó últimamente a 6 kg por persona. La reducción tan drástica de la producción de arroz se debió principalmente a la sequía entre 1985 y 1994, que determinó una escasez de agua de riego e importaciones baratas de arroz. En este estudio se examina el empleo de insumos y se determina el costo de producción a nivel del agricultor. Se recogieron datos de fuentes primarias y secundarias. La producción de arroz es más costosa que la de otros muchos cultivos. Los agricultores aplican nitrógeno en dosis excesivas, y hay una gran diferencia entre las cantidades recomendadas y las aplicadas. También utilizan herbicidas en altos porcentajes. Todo ello aumenta el costo de producción y crea problemas de orden ambiental. La mecanización no se utiliza tanto en el cultivo del arroz como en otros cultivos, pues sólo el 47,6 por ciento de los cosecheros de arroz cuentan con equipo adecuado. Por lo tanto, la mayoría de ellos siempre necesitan crédito para la preparación de las tierras y para la recolección, empleándose la fuerza de trabajo familiar en todas las regiones donde se cosecha arroz. No se ha aplicado al arroz el sistema recomendado de rotación de dos a tres años que se emplea para el cultivo de otros productos durante dos años, habiéndose cultivado el arroz sin rotación durante mucho tiempo en el mismo arrozal. La región del sur de Mármara tiene el costo de producción de arroz más barato (0,30 $EE.UU./kg) y las regiones de Tracia y del mar Negro le siguen con 0,33 dólares. En cambio, el arroz rinde beneficios netos superiores a los de los demás cultivos de riego y casi un 63,8 por ciento de los cosecheros de arroz en Turquía se muestran satisfechos con los ingresos brutos que obtienen de este cereal. También algunos agricultores siguen cultivando arroz, porque sus campos están ya preparados para ese cultivo y su equipo sólo sirve para ello. Sin embargo, la fluctuación de la superficie de cultivo de arroz en el país obedece a la escasez de agua y en menor medida a los precios bajos del arroz importado y a los altos costos de producción nacional.