Factors Influencing Rural Youth’s Tendency to Stay in Agriculture in Türkiye

Bekir Ayyıldız, Gülistan Erdal (), Adnan Çiçek and Merve Ayyıldız
Additional contact information
Bekir Ayyıldız: Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Agricultural Economics, Yozgat Bozok University, Yozgat 66900, Türkiye
Gülistan Erdal: Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Agricultural Economics, Tokat Gaziosmanpasa University, Tokat 60250, Türkiye
Adnan Çiçek: Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Agricultural Economics, Tokat Gaziosmanpasa University, Tokat 60250, Türkiye
Merve Ayyıldız: Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Agricultural Economics, Yozgat Bozok University, Yozgat 66900, Türkiye

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 8, 1-15

Abstract: The decline in the young population in rural areas has led to a shortage of skilled labor in agriculture. While the use of technology and capital is often suggested as a solution, it may not be sufficient, especially with the aging rural population. The goal of this study was to examine the factors influencing young people’s decisions to stay in agriculture, and propose solutions. On the other hand, this study presents policy recommendations aimed at strengthening implementation tools for sustainable development and revitalizing global partnerships under SDG 17. Data were collected through surveys with 2398 young individuals aged 15–29 across 27 rural settlements in Turkey. A binary logit regression model was used to analyze the probability of young people remaining in agriculture. The results show that, similar to studies in developing economies, young men were more likely to stay in agriculture than young women. Additionally, having personal income or assets, as well as larger land and livestock holdings in the household, increased the likelihood of staying in agriculture. Conversely, migration from households and higher education levels decreased the probability. The study emphasizes the need for projects that improve the welfare of rural youth. Economic development alone is insufficient; policies integrating agricultural and social factors, including family dynamics, could be more effective in ensuring youth retention in agriculture and supporting sustainable agricultural production.

Keywords: rural area; agriculture; rural youth; sustainability; SDG17 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/8/3313/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/8/3313/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:8:p:3313-:d:1630412

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().