Abstract:

To the north of Cyprus Island, lies the Karpas Peninsula along the borders of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Cyprus Island narrows northeastward from about 34° East longitude. The peninsula that narrowly stretches eastward from centre of İskele district and thereabouts covers a long, narrow area and is called the "Karpas Peninsula”. Since the data required for the research are based on district, İskele district boundaries were passed through to spot the peninsula's western border. The peninsula has approximately 817km² surface area; 48% agricultural region, 32% forests, 5% pastures and 15% unused lands. Compared with the other districts in terms of distribution of agricultural region, İskele district has the second biggest agricultural area with nearly 22% just after Famagusta. The Karpas Peninsula is one of the places which have an important agriculture and tourism potential in Northern Cyprus. However, unconscious and extreme land use observed in recent years might lead to irreversible problems on the research site if necessary precautions are not taken. For this reason, the study revealed the current agricultural structure of the Karpas peninsula and its agricultural potential associated with the geographic features and employed SWOT analysis for agricultural area planning in the peninsula

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