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REGIONAL TARGETS AND STRATEGIES FOR THRACE REGION IN TURKEY: A SWOT ANALYSIS FOR COMPETITIVENESS

Meltem Okur Dinçsoy

Department of Economics, Trakya University, Balkan Campus, Edirne, Turkey E-mail: meltemokurdincsoy@trakya.edu.tr

Abstract

In the 20th

century, economic growth and development became a main goal of many countries in the world; and the world entered 21

th century with a rapid globalisation process.

With this process, regional studies gained global importance at all socio-economic levels. Therefore, we investigated current developments in Turkey focusing on Trace Region which is of utmost importance with its geographic location and socio-economic characteristics. In order to perform an appropriate analysis, general situation in Turkey is revealed in terms of regional components and SWOT analysis of the region is performed by the information received from different parts of Thrace. We also assess competitiveness of the region with aforementioned holistic perspective. We observed that Thrace region has a huge agricultural potential which can be transformed into socio-economic benefits. Also, the region has a high level of education; however, educated people cannot be adequately employed in the region. The other significant points identified in this study appeared as the necessity of providing product diversification, increasing employee productivity, evaluating rural tourism potential, improving the condition of the disadvantaged group in the rural, and developing standard of living taking spatial features of the region into consideration. Keywords: Regional Development, Rural Development, Regional Competitiveness, Trace Region, SWOT Analysis JEL classification codes: R10, R11, R12, R58, Q10

1. INTRODUCTION There have been profound changes in the economies and recovery attempts of the countries with the Industrial Revolution which occurred in the 18

th century, especially under the leadership of

European countries. The most important developments affecting rural life began in this period. Since the beginning of the Age of Mechanization, in the 19

th century, energy has

become the most significant part of development. In this way, the first steps were taken to carry out the transition from an agricultural economy to an industrial economy in Europe. While the countries that succeed in industrialization first became the central economies, the other countries became peripheral economies that provide raw material for the central economies. In the central economies, agricultural employment began to swiftly shift to factories and cities where factories were located. Since the 1950s, these troubles have reached intolerable levels.

In the course of time, approaches to rural development have undergone profound transformations. In the 1960s, it was considered that all the problems could be solved using modern production methods instead of traditional ones in the rural areas; however, in the 2000s, the idea comes into prominence is that to ensure development local and traditional production methods need to be supported with technology. And there is emphasis on environmentally friendly approaches and protecting localness (MOD, 2006).

In the 20

th century, economic growth and

development have become main objective and goal of many countries in the world including peripheral economies. The countries used different economic growth models to initiate development movement. Today, when developed and developing countries are examined; it is easily observed that there is a decline in agricultural activities and cities face rapid urbanization problem (Dincsoy and Okur, 2005). And from 21

th

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century, the world has entered a period of rapid globalisation. Agriculture is still of great importance to the world economy and agricultural policies of countries on development have become a concern of the whole world.

In September 2000, the Millennium Summit of the United Nations (UN) was held with the participation of 147 presidents. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) determined in the United Nations Millennium Declaration were signed by 189 states and indicate eight main elements that cause problems on the development of countries: i) eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, ii) achieving universal primary education, iii)promoting gender equality and empowering women, iv) reducing child mortality rates, v) improving maternal health, vi) combating HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases, vii) ensuring environmental sustainability, viii) developing a global partnership for development. On a global scale sharing responsibilities among countries in collaboration is aimed to solve these problems (UNDP, 2012).

In addition, Gulbucuk et al. (2010) well

summarised the “New Rural Development Strategy” of World Bank (WB) which launched in 2003 to reduce poverty: i) Rural dwellers should have the same standard of living and quality of life as the ones in the urban centres, ii) Fair and equitable socio-cultural opportunities should be presented to rural dwellers, iii) Rural areas should be made more attractive to live and work, iv) Rural areas should be able to adapt social, cultural, environmental, and technological changes, v) Rural development activities should take into consideration all sectors of society.

Celik (2006) mentioned that addition to the

WB and the UN, the European Union (EU) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) also have definitions and strategies on rural development and summarised

as: i) Increasing employment opportunities and creating new sources of income in rural areas, ii) Conservation of the rural heritage, iii) Elasticity of rural development assistance, iv) Building partnership/collaboration with decentralisation and regional/local authorities, v) Multi-functional agriculture, vi) Using multi-sectoral model in agricultural economy and promoting an integrated approach to rural development, vii) Transparency in the preparation and implementation of the Rural Development Programmes.

Millennium Development Goals Summit in

September 2010 concluded with an ambitious action plan put forward by the world leaders. In this plan, differences between urban and rural areas were highlighted and the alarming side of the issue was observed.

As development is constituted by material

relationships, social, cultural and geo-political activities and powers, and the power of institutions cannot be ignored to comprehend the development in geographical and regional contexts (Crush, 1995). Although many positive developments have been noted in Turkey in terms of facts revealed by various organizations around the world and objectives to be achieved, more specific studies are required to make the living standard of rural dwellers as good as the ones in the urban areas.

2. PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF THE STUDY As a result of globalization, concepts like regional, local, and rural came to prominence and studies of regional business associations, regional development strategies, regional competitiveness, localisation, sustainable development, rural development, rural infrastructure, remigration, etc. gained importance (Aktan, 1998). In this regard, in some countries such as Turkey whose ethnicity, cultural values, and economic level are not homogenous at regional level, spatial

dimension of development takes on increased significance (Dincsoy and Ichiminami, 2006). Rural can be noted as one of the most important planning and application area of the spatial dimension of development. As seen in Figure 1, rural development objectives can be summarized

in five main points: human, economy, politics, environment, and technology.

Since rural development in Turkey is generally handled in terms of agricultural production, rural

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settlements fall far short of the level of social and economic development compared to urban areas (Giray, Akın, and Gun, 2004). This condition, rural development in Turkey, necessitates taking aforementioned dimensions into consideration from a theoretical and holistic perspective.

In this study

1, Thrace region which is of utmost

importance for Turkey in points of geographic location and socio-economic characteristics will be analysed. In order to perform an appropriate analysis of the region and the rural areas in the region, at first step the general situation of Turkey is revealed and some successful and different project examples will be touched in terms of sustainability and development. At second step, general characteristics of the region and public expectations and problems obtained in face to face interviews will be presented. At third step, in the light of information received from different parts of Thrace, SWOT analysis of the region will be performed. At fourth step, competitiveness of the region will be assessed with aforementioned holistic perspective. And at last step, recommendations will be made for the solution of existing problems and promotion of socio-economic development level of the region.

1At the early stage of the study, the author served as

rapporteur in “Rural Development Specialization

Commission” studies organized by Thrace Development

Agency for TR21 Thrace Regional Planning (2014-2032)

and http://www.trakya2023.com/uploads/docs

28062013ZP0_zM.pdf (access 15. 07.2013)

56

Figure 1: Dimensions of Rural Development

RURAL DEVELOPMENT

Human Dimension

Economic Dimension

Political Dimension

Environmental Dimension

Technological Dimension

Demography Agriculture Regional Expansion Pollution Bio-technology Education Forestry Food Safety Bio-diversity Informatics and Internet

Social Structure Rural Industry Subsidies Deterioration Culture Service Lobbying Land Cover

Urban Lifestyle Tourism

New Economy

Source: Heilig (2007)

3. GENERAL SITUATION AND GROWTH TRENDS IN TURKEY

Rural development attempts carried out in Turkey generally focus on agricultural production and other aspects of development are ignored and thus desired success cannot be achieved so far. In addition, as a result of the experiences, it is revealed that dealing with social and cultural development holistically is necessary in order to create a happy and prosperous environment for people. Social, cultural, and economic change began in the 1950s when migration from villages to cities accelerated. Seeking solutions to the problems of this change brought up spatial planning systems in rural. And when the planned period began in the 1960s, scattered rural settlements emerged as one of the factors that hinder development in rural areas.

When population projection of Turkey is examined (Figure 2), it is observed that there has been a steady increase in urban population. As a result of gradual decrease in the rural population, the urban population was higher than the rural in 1985. It is estimated that after 2015, the rate of rural population will be lower than the one in 1950. Additionally, it is expected that by 2050 the

rural population will decline to 10 million while the urban population will reach up to 80 million.

Insufficient agricultural income, agricultural

land fragmentation, increasing use of machinery, education, health, social conditions, security, and inadequateness of public policies can be counted as the most significant causes of rural to urban migration in Turkey. This migration has also led to many social and economic problems in the urban areas. Urban squatting, unplanned urbanization, informal economy, the emergence of various non-formal sectors, and increasing social exclusion of immigrants are among the major problems. Different projects that carry the characteristics of the region and contribute to the socio-economic problems of the region have been implemented for the Rural Development objectives of Turkey (Gezici and Hewings, 2001). Some of these projects are mentioned below.

Depending on the agreement between the

governments of Turkey and Germany concerning technical cooperation, Tekirdag Province was selected as pilot region in 1986 and Leader Farmer Project (OCP) was put into practice. The aim of this project is to transfer knowledge to farmer through advisors and find the easiest way of implementing the transferred knowledge. It shows that using

57

high technology and knowledge inside and outside of the field makes a great contribution to production and this project is a good model for change and innovation in agriculture

2.

Multiplicity of dispersed settlements conduces

to social troubles such as limiting human, non-group, and market relationships and triggers the “Central Village” and “Urban Village” implementations developed in accordance with the Settlement Law No. 2510. Urban village, which is the most comprehensive rural development project of Turkey, was implemented in Mesudiye district of Ordu Province in 2000-2003.

In Kars Province of Turkey, almost 30 villages

aim at achieving sustainability in agriculture3. It is

one of the projects representing Turkey in Rio +20, the United Nations (UN) Conference on Sustainable Development with the project named ‘Conservation and Use of Local Seed with the Help of Sustainable Village Projects’ as an alternative local development model. Bartering animals and shopping among villages helped achieving internal local economy. The established associations made the villagers organized and they protected the values of their lands in addition to the traditional farming methods. Combining scientific and traditional knowledge in the course of time was provided through farmer training. The product of a village were sent to the other directly regardless of market impact and in this way both a tight network of relationship was established between the villages and a sustainable local economy was handled.

In Kayayaki village of Eskişehir Province, Rural

Development Cooperative established with the contribution of Ministry of Food Agriculture and Livestock in 2010 had a fund of 450.000 Turkish liras and 30 people from the village participated in this cooperative with 10 cattle for per person. The Rural Development Cooperative reached 4.5

2 Retrieved June 10, 2013, from

http://www.onderciftci.com/ 3 Retrieved January 7, 2013, from

http://ekoiq.com/karsta-kirsal-kalkinma-devrimi/

million Turkish liras in two years and began milk production at EU and world-class standards

4.

Ankara Development Agency supported

‘Spread and Institutionalisation of Rural Tourism in Ankara: Nallihan Developing Rural Tourism Project’

5 with financial assistance program in 2011.

The goal of this project is to restore historic houses and old schools in Ankara Province, Beydili Village of Nallihan County, and make them education, rural tourism and hospitality centres. Within the scope of the project, tourism mobility of the village is targeted through educating the villagers on rural tourism and organic agriculture. This project has become a role model not only to the region but also to the entire country on rural tourism (ADA, 2012).

At the beginning of 2013, the project prepared

on behalf of Karakasim Village Irrigation Cooperative of Edirne Province, ‘Analysis of Modern Irrigation Techniques on Agricultural Lands’, was found successful and eligible for financing by EU Youth Programs and received a grant of 49.000 Euro

6. It is highly important

because such a project of a village is found worthy of support for the first time.

EU and the IPA (Instrument for Pre-Accession

Assistance) have gathered all the pre-accession financial assistance of candidate and potential candidate countries under a single program. It is expected that in the future, EU financial assistance for Turkey will be used like in the member states of EU. In certain provinces, the government provides free of charge financial assistance to investors of

4 Retrieved February 2013, from

http://www.tarimtv.gov.tr/HD1606_eskisehirde-

hayvancilikta-bir-basari-oykusu.html 5 It is carried out in collaboration with Development

Studies Research and Application Center

(AKÇAM), Nallihan District Governorship,

Nallihan Tourism Volunteers Association

(NALTUD), Beydili Village Social Assistance and

Solidarity Association, and Sustainable Rural and

Urban Development Association. 6 Local newspaper, retrieved January 3, 2013, from

http://www.ondergazetesi.com/detayhaber.asp?id=2

0219

58

IPARD (Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance Rural Development Programme) projects (ARDSI, 2013).

4. GENERAL SITUATION AND GROWTH TRENDS

IN THRACE REGION 4.1. General Situation Thrace Region (NUTS-2 TR21) is located in the northwest of Turkey and it consists of three provinces: Tekirdag, Edirne, and Kirklareli (Figure 3). The region covers 18,665 km

2 (excluding lake)

and it corresponds to 2.4% of Turkey’s total surface area (TSI, 2010). It has coastal borders on the Black Sea, the Sea of Marmara, and the Mediterranean and it is the only region of Turkey surrounded by water on three sides. The networks of highways linking Turkey to Europe make the region Turkey’s gateway to Europe. And as well as being close to Istanbul region’s border with Europe increases the significance of it logistically.

1.809 industrial enterprises, 1 European Free Zone, 6 Organized Industrial Zones, and Technopark are in the borders of the region; additionally, 185 foreign invested companies such as BSH (Bosch und Siemens Hausgeraete), Danone, Coca Cola, Bunge, Zentiva, Foxconn (HP), and Unilever are important for national economy (TDA, 2011).

In table 1, sectoral distribution of the

registered enterprises is given. Tekirdag is the leader of the region with 1.277 enterprises. Additionally, a significant part of the textile companies in Turkey is occupied in Tekirdag. The number of registered enterprises in Edirne and Kirklareli has similar statistics (respectively 265 and 267). Except for food, beverage, and tobacco industry, leading industry branches in Edirne and Kirklareli, Tekirdag has a big lead. These two cities, Edirne and Kirklareli, should produce high value added products in this industry branch.

Agriculture is an important source of income for the region and according to the data of Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) received in 2010, 71.3 % of agricultural production in the region is

obtained from plant production while 28.7 % is from animal production

7. The most significant

products in the area are wheat, sunflower, and paddy. It provides Turkey’s 9.3% of wheat production, 62.5% of sunflower production, and 44.5% of paddy production.

Edirne Province meets most of Turkey’s paddy

rice cultivation. Although yield of paddy in Turkey is above average, it cannot achieve self-sufficiency in paddy production and the import is at the level of 200.000 tons per year. In fact, Turkey can achieve self-sufficiency when successful projects and policies are implemented. The most frequently encountered problems in rice production are: i) insufficient agricultural support ii) irrigation problems, iii) expensive inputs of agricultural production, iv) below cost pricing, v) the rate of VAT

8 (value added tax), and vi) insufficient

agricultural insurance. In Table 2, the rates of land use for both

Turkey and the Thrace region are given in detail in terms of land use and percentage. When the table is analysed, it is observed that 34% of Turkey is used for agricultural purposes and it is the highest percentage. Thrace region has the highest proportion of agricultural area compared to total area of Turkey and the other regions and it lies above the values of Turkey average. However, Tekirdag is above the rates of Turkey average in terms of non-agricultural land.

Finally, when the structure of population in

the provinces of the region is analysed (Table 3), it is observed that the population growth of Edirne is stable while Kirklareli has a low and Tekirdag has a dense population growth. Male population growth was 9.04%, female population growth was 9.51% and total population growth was 9.27% in Thrace region between 2007 and 2012. The population growth of the region has been affected by migration to Tekirdag Province. 4.2. Rural Life and Problems in the Region

7 The rates of livestock are not calculated.

8 VAT of husked rice is 1%, VAT of rice after de-

husking is 8%, and VAT of the rice husk is 18%.

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The ideas of the settlers about the rural life and problems were learned in the face to face interviews and some findings were reached. Higher agricultural input costs, policies on competitiveness, and the procedures of public institutions make it more difficult for small farmers. In some places, the farmers who own land under 60 acres cannot survive while the ones who own above 200 acres barely afford to live. Additionally, except for the riverside farms, problems with irrigation of agricultural lands prevent agricultural diversification. In addition to economic reasons, lack of infrastructure, limited access to the means of communication, and girls’ not preferring to live in the villages after marriage cause population decline in villages. In the region, rural to urban migration eradicates the traditional agricultural knowledge and culture. Land costs have increased 5 times in the last 5 years due to purchase of the regions’ lands. Why the lands are purchased is not exactly known; however, it is observed that these arable lands are left idle. It is understood that the people in the region establish cooperatives and unions easily, but they are closed in a short time as a result of disagreements. Furthermore, some villagers in the region do not welcome rural tourism which is quite popular and significant in the world nowadays.

In the region, land consolidation of the state has led to better results in terms of productivity. However, narrow scope of agricultural insurance and high loan interest rates result in loss of income. The villagers in the region are in expectation of some regulations related to these issues and there is a need to enhance the confidence of people to public and development projects.

5. SWOT ANALYSIS OF THE REGION SWOT analysis is a technique which is applied taking internal and external factors of the examined region, institution or organization, process or situation into account. SWOT aims to develop plans and strategies to benefit from the strengths and opportunities of the examined situation at the highest level and to minimize the impact of the threats and weaknesses. SWOT

analysis of the region prepared for this purpose is given in Table 4. 6. TARGETS AND STRATEGIES TO INCREASE COMPETITIVENESS OF THE REGION The region is not included in 'IPA Regional Competitiveness Operational Programme' implemented by Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology

9. Additionally, it is not one of the

provinces that IPARD programme will be applied. In this regard, the region cannot benefit from either Central Government or EU funds sufficiently. In terms of internal dynamics of the region, rural is the key point to increase competitiveness. How people can live more comfortably in the rural areas is an important issue. As a priority, making the rural attractive for the youth, ensuring a certain standard of living and creating a suitable environment for production are required. For this reason, identification of targets and revealing strategies and activities to achieve these targets are among the requirements. Main targets and strategies to be followed to increase the competitiveness of the region are given below.

Target 1: Enhance social life in the rural There is a great shortcoming in the region

related to this issue and rural dwellers cannot reach services such as social environment and sports facilities at any time.

Strategy 1: Revive social life Strategy 2: Strengthen the relationships between the local governments Strategy 3: Study on social life Strategy 4: Enhance social infrastructure Strategy 5: Provide access to public services in the rural Strategy 6: Provide and improve access to

information with tools such as internet and telephone

9 According to 2011 data, the target zone of

Regional Competitiveness Operational Programme

is consisted of 12 NUTS II regions (43 cities)

whose per capita income is below 75% of Turkey

average at NUTS II level.

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Target 2: Build a collaborative culture Many important studies have been conducted

across the country on this issue but the desired success cannot be handled. Associations and unions were established to enhance collaborative culture and sometimes even public forces were used to achieve this goal. Unfortunately, it was a failure. The number of long lasting and successful associations and unions is limited now. The reason of this is that practised association and union models are inconsistent with the realities of the region because the same model results in success in another part of the world. In order to handle more radical outcomes, it is thought that the models should be applied after regional studies are carried out. The study shows that there is a big difference between the perception of the farmer and the perfect model. The farmer, taking into account his own point of view, produces demandable products that he can afford to cultivate and he will sell. In this regard, the projects and advices cannot gain validity.

Strategy 1: Establish a good bond between the farmers and the institutions Strategy 2: Provide a good flow of information between the farmers and the project Strategy 3: Reduce the difference between the farmers and the market realities

Target 3: Increase production, productivity, and employment The most important problem is that the small

land owners fail to take their economic income into a certain amount. Firstly, development of agricultural production is required to solve this problem because fruitful agriculture cannot be achieved in the region. Excessive machinery usage in the course of farming small land can be noted as one of the reasons of this problem. Additionally, it is observed that the investment decisions are not rational in the region. For example, the farmers can invest more money than they earn and it makes the farmers face with credit debts. In some cases, this cycle leads to the farmer’s bankruptcy and loss of land. The farmer profile of Thrace region forces this cycle up to end, that is, the farmer tries to acquire dept financing through new credits. However, what is rational for rural development is using credits for new investments.

For professional production, the farmer should follow the market instead of hearsay knowledge. In this structure, the farmers cannot be institutionalized, enterprises cannot be established in the rural and so farming is restricted to a kind of family association. Furthermore, the region and animal quality is suitable for stockbreeding but the desired productivity cannot be acquired. For this reason, there is not enough production and thus, there is not enough income.

Strategy 1: Support and raise awareness of the people in the region Strategy 2: Inform the farmers and provide information flow from farmer to farmer Strategy 3: Ensure meetings of farmers in certain periods Strategy 4: Enhance cooperation with relevant ministries and the university in the region Strategy 5: Efficiency of the university in the

solution of the farmer’s problems and ensure spread of the solutions

Target 4: Develop instrumental tools in rural areas Agricultural insurance is an important issue for

the farmers. In addition, highlighting the function of the financial system in terms of producer support is required. In this regard, this sector has a high level of uncertainty and agricultural insurance is an important tool to cope with risks. Agricultural insurance allows farmers planning for a better future. State support in this issue is an important advantage for the farmers in Turkey and it should be extended. Farmers also do not succeed in using the services of the banks. One of the reasons of this is misunderstanding of the services and so the lack of ability to use them in the right place. For this reason, it leads to increase in the costs of production.

Strategy 1: Develop access to the financial system and interaction with the financial system

Strategy 2: Provide the farmers’ recognition and usage of the financial system better

Strategy 3: Strengthen bargaining capacity against the banks and other financial institutions establishing

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strong farmers’ associations and reduce the costs of capital

Target 5: Marketing the products Farmers’ inability to price the products with a

fair share, inability to produce different products that will generate a desired profit amount, brandization problems in contrast with the good image of the region, and distorted interaction between the urban and rural areas are major problems related to marketing. Rural dwellers are not aware of the potential of the region and they do not attempt to develop the region they live; on the contrary, they sell their assets to acquire property in the cities and it makes the solution of these problems more complicated.

Strategy 1: Develop the relationship between urban and rural areas

Strategy 2: Develop marketing and employment opportunities of small retailers in the rural

Strategy 3: Enhance social and cultural environment in the rural and in this way reducing migration from rural to urban

Strategy 4: Encourage university students who study in the county to rent houses there instead of the city

Target 6: Environmental sensitivity in the rural areas Environmental problems are the most

important problems of the Thrace region. How the problem can be avoided, how the problem can be solved, and what can be done about it are not clear enough. It is considered that industry pollutes the region but solid waste also emerges as one of the major problems in the rural areas. Although the people in the region have environmental sensitivity, they have troubles about how to bring it into action.

Strategy 1: Develop infrastructure services Strategy 2: Establish solid waste management

units Strategy 3: Protect and clean water sources Strategy 4: Recycle animal and vegetable

waste as input and use them in reducing input costs

Target 7: Tourism The region has a strong potential for tourism.

Edirne has welcomed many cultures through history. Being the capital city of the Ottoman Empire is also richness for Edirne. Apart from this, beauty of natural areas such as Gulf of Saros, Istranca Mountains, and Ganos Mountains is a potential for the region. Although there has been an accelerated industrial movement for the past 30 years, the region has been engaged in agriculture for almost 100 years and it has a developed farming culture. And it is an important advantage for rural tourism. Rural tourism will make great contributions to income distribution and cultural interaction.

Strategy 1: Develop infrastructure of sea, nature and agro tourism

Strategy 2: Promotional activities of the region and the products

Strategy 3: Offer incentives to investors Strategy 4: Raise awareness of the people in

the region 7. CONCLUSION Thrace region has a huge agricultural potential and to transform this potential into socio-economic benefits for the region, to implement it within a plan, and to gain the support of the public knowing the demands and problems of the public is necessary.

The region has a high level of education and it

seems as an advantage; however, a significant problem is that these educated people cannot be employed in the region and migration out of the region cannot be prevented. Additionally, in the sociological structure of the region, women should be included in the education process, employment rate of women in the region should be increased, and opportunities for women to gain their social rights (such as insurance and pension) should be provided. Giving training after analysing rural and urban areas behaviourally will create an entrepreneur and innovative farmer profile. The most significant points identified in this study are the necessity of providing product diversification, increasing employee productivity, evaluating rural tourism potential in terms of local demands, improving the condition of the disadvantaged

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group in the rural (women, elderly, children, and disabled), and developing standard of living taking spatial features of the region into consideration.

As a conclusion, rural development has become increasingly important in the world and in our country and it should not be contemplated as a single discipline because solving problems of the rural in this way is very difficult. Furthermore, the plans and projects implemented to solve the problems of the rural should not trigger other problems and their outcomes should be calculated in detail. For this reason, as many international organizations has also revealed, rural development is an issue that should be evaluated with multi-dimensional and holistic approach. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank to all participants (Turhan

Çirozlar, Fehmi Aksal, Zafer Uygun, Ersin Kaçar, Muaffak Özdir, Can General, Murat Kocaman, Ergün Mutlu, Şakir Ada, Meltem Okur Dinçsoy, Bülent Kalpaklıoğlu, Akın Gürbüz, Emre Oral, Kadir Süzme, Vedat Yazıcı, Mehmet Erfa, Koray Doğru, E. Recep Ersoy, Gülay Çakır, Mehmet Ali Kiracı, Erol Özkan, Aydın Gürel, H. Ali Güleç, Selim Sadıç, Salih Alan, Zeki Yıldırım, Cüneyt Salt, Tahir Demirel) for their partial contributions during the “Rural Development Specialization Commission” studies organized by Thrace Development Agency REFERENCES 1. ADA (Ankara Development Agency), 2012.

Nallıhan Beydili Köyü Kırsal Turizme Hazır. [online]. Retrieved from http://ankaraka.org.tr/tr/data.asp?id=1185

2. Aktan, C. C., 1998. Globalization, Regionalization, and Localization (in Turkish). Globallesme, Bolgesellesme ve Yerellesme, Journal of Foreign Trade, 10, pp.1-4.

3. ARDSI (Agriculture and Rural Development Support Institution), 2013. Intense Interest in IPARD Programme, Electronic Bulletin, Winter-Spring 2013, 2. Retrieved from http://www.tkdk.gov.tr/en/Files/Bulletin/June2013.pdf

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6. Dincsoy, E.E. and Okur, M., 2005. Sustainable Development and Regional Planning in Turkey; A Special Study on the Southeastern Anatolia Project. Setouchi Geographical Journal, 14. pp. 1-16.

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8. ESA-UN (United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs). Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, World Population Prospects. [online]. Retrieved from http://esa.un.org/unpd/wup/unup/index_panel1.html [accessed June 2013]

9. Gülcubuk, B., N., Yıldırak, N., Kızılaslan, D., Ozer, M., Kan, and Kepoglu, A., 2010. “Kırsal Kalkınma Yaklaşımları ve Politika Değişimleri”, Türkiye Ziraat Mühendisliği VII. Teknik Kongresi, Ankara.

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Republic of Turkey Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock, Ankara.

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Figure 2: Population Projection and Distribution in Turkey (Thousands)

Source: ESA-UN Figure 3: Turkey and Thrace Region NUTS Level-2 Map

0

20000

40000

60000

80000

100000

1950

1955

1960

1965

1970

1975

1980

1985

1990

1995

2000

2005

2010

2011

2015

2020

2025

2030

2035

2040

2045

2050

Rural Population Urban Population

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Table 1: Sectoral Distribution of Registered Enterprises

Sectors Tekirdag Edirne Kirklareli Thrace

Textile, Clothing and Leather Industry 511 23 66 600 Food, Beverage and Tobacco Industry 162 152 93 407 Stone, Clay and Mining Industry 115 55 37 207 Paper and Packaging Industry 28 0 2 30 Plastics, Chemicals, Paint and Glass 169 0 15 184 Machinery, Equipment, Automatic and sub-Industry 157 0 23 180 Wood Products and Furniture Industry 21 0 17 38 Other 114 35 14 163

Total 1.277 265 267 1.809

Source: TDA (2011)

Table 2: The rates of Land Use (according to 2003)

Land Use Cultivated

Area Grassland and

Pastures Forest and Heathland

Nonagricultural Area Total Area

Tekirdag ha 392778 31629 104762 92618 621787 % 63.2 5.1 16.8 14.9 100

Edirne ha 380262 81279 104228 61826 627595 % 60.6 13.0 16.6 9.9 100

Kirklareli ha 268311 73853 239350 73486 655000 % 41.0 11.3 36.5 11.2 100

TR21 ha 1041351 186761 448340 227930 1904382 % 54.7 9.8 23.5 12.0 100

Turkey ha 26968000 20500000 20763000 10184700 78415700 % 34.4 26.1 26.5 13.0 100

Source: Republic of Turkey Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (2007) Table 3: Distribution of Growth Rate and Population of TR21 Thrace Region by Gender

2007 2012 Total Male Population Growth

Total Female Population Growth

Total Population Growth Male Female Male Female

Tekirdag 375703 352693 439124 413197 16.88% 17.15% 17.01%

Edirne 203569 192893 203656 196052 0.04% 1.64% 0.82%

Kirklareli 171204 162052 175515 165703 2.52% 2.25% 2.39%

TR21 750476 707638 818295 774952 9.04% 9.51% 9.27%

Source: TSI10

10 The numbers in the table are calculated from ‘Address Based Population Registration System Statistics’ online databases

of Turkish Statistical Institute, http://www.tuik.gov.tr/PreTabloArama.do?metod=search&araType=vt

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Table 4: SWOT Analysis of Thrace Region

Strengths Weaknesses

Fertile land

Abundance of agricultural lands

Open to development agro-based industry

Being suitable for polyculture agriculture

Agricultural research

Being disease free zone

Livestock

Surrounded by water on three sides

Water availability

Logistic opportunities

Presence of entry points to Europe

Existence of European trade routes (seaway,

railway and highway)

Closeness to Istanbul, metropolis

Considerable marketing opportunities (Istanbul

and Europe)

Transportation

Democratic structure of the region

Innovative

Multiplicity of democratic people

Increase in knowledge and skills related to

organization

Suitableness of socio-economic structure to

organise

High rate of literacy

The presence of entrepreneurship potential

Natural, cultural, and historical richness

Availability of 10 OIZs

Tourism diversity

High technology

Scarcity of irrigable agricultural land

Lack of a department in the universities related to

viticulture

Small and fragmented agricultural enterprises

Reduction in product diversity

Small livestock enterprises

Inefficient use of agricultural lands

Lack of agricultural knowledge

Lack of organization and union

Insufficient knowledge given to public by the local

governments

Lack of associations interest in shareholders

Ineffective coordination between university, farmer,

and industry collaboration

Bureaucratic Obstacles

The problem of saving nature and environment

Pollution of Ergene River

Lack of treatment facilities in residential areas

Inefficient use of water sources

Lack of infrastructure

Failure in brandization

Problem of high value added production

Insufficient promotion of local products

Lack of motivation and entrepreneurial spirit

Lack of social activities in the rural

Lack of capital

Inefficient use of tourism potential

Low population growth rate

Insufficient knowledge and R&D efforts

Inefficient use of data processing technology

Lack of accredited laboratories for food

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Opportunities Threats

Brandization of indigenous products

Access to markets

New wine facilities

Closeness to EU markets

Closeness to various markets

State’s support of small enterprises

Presence of entrepreneurship environment

Advanced agricultural industry

Presence of Faculty of Agriculture

Agricultural diversification

Cultivation suitableness of land for fodder crops

Being disease free zone

Potential to attract local and foreign tourists

Diversity of tourism activities in the region

Sea, forest, and mountain diversity

Gulf of Saros and forests

Health Tourism

Closeness to Istanbul

Air, railway, and water transport

Co-operation with neighbouring countries

Grants

High rate of literacy

Carrying socio-cultural richness of cities to the rural

areas

Thermal power plants established in the region

Harmful effects of industry

Contamination of water sources

Pollution of Ergene River

Quarries

Natural disasters

Site selection of power plants

Insufficiency of waste disposal facilities

Management of natural resources

Unplanned industry

The pressure of Istanbul on the region

Loss of agricultural land

Inefficient use of irrigation water

Multiplicity of uncontrollable parameters on

agriculture

The pressure on pastures

Uncontrolled use of pesticides

High taxes on wine sector

Failure of legal legislation in protecting small farmers

Decline in animal production

Bureaucracy

Migration

Seasonal uncertainty

Renewable energy sources