Özet:

Purpose: The situation of the producers who benefited and those who did not benefit from drip irrigation grants in İzmir, Manisa, and Denizli provinces within the scope of rural development investments between 2012 and 2017 by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and their attitudes and behavior towards water management. Design/Methodology/Approach: In this context, the data of the study was acquired from a face-to-face survey conducted with 33 producers who benefited from the grants and 33 producers who did not benefit from the grants, however, had similar operating characteristics with those that received drip irrigation support. Descriptive statistics such as mean standard deviation and percentage were used in the analysis of the data. The factors affecting the benefit of drip irrigation grants were evaluated with logistic regression analysis. Findings: In the light of the acquired data, it has been seen that the producers benefiting from the grants are younger and more educated than the producers who did not receive the grant they have a profession other than farming it has been found that environmental and nature awareness is relatively more developed. However, it was determined that the producers who did not benefit from the grant installed the drip irrigation system before the irrigation grants and supports. Findings: According to the results of the logistic regression analysis, it was concluded that the education level of the producers, the number of people in the family, the number of family members working in agriculture, agricultural incomes, and the size of the cultivated field land positively affect the benefiting from the drip irrigation grant. This situation reveals that producers with high-income levels and large land assets benefit from drip irrigation grants. At the same time, it has been concluded that there is insufficient knowledge on water management and the importance of modern irrigation systems. Originality/Value: Water, which is a strategic natural resource, has become even more important today due to the increasing demand, the effect of climate change, and quality losses. 74% of the available freshwater resources in our country are used for agricultural irrigation. For this reason, the transition to modern irrigation systems to increase the efficiency of water use and the application of correct irrigation management in these systems are important elements in terms of conserving water resources. It is necessary to carry out further studies on the situation of the producers using modern irrigation systems for effective water use and management, and their attitudes and behaviors towards water management. More extension and information studies should be conducted on the lack of information and wrong practices on effective water use and management.

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