MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY

Department of Economics Seminar Series 

"The Effects of Vulnerability on Harvesting Labor Payment Regime: The Case of Ankara"

by

Elif Gül Köse

(Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University)

Date: November 25, 2024 (Monday)

Time: 14:00

Place: F106, FEAS - Building A

Abstract

The study examines factors determining payment regime for harvesting laborers and, in particular, the extent to which the vulnerability of produces is influential. Focus of the study is on agricultural produces with labor-intensive harvesting. Between October 2022 and April 2023, 384 farmers actively engaged in agricultural production in 25 districts of Ankara were face-to-face surveyed and 27 experts were interviewed, reaching a total of 1260 observations. The surveys sought answers to questions on the impact of vulnerability rate on determining the payment regime, the impact of the payment regime on the rates of wastage and depreciation during harvest, and if monitoring of harvesting laborers reduces wastage and depreciation among similar categories of crops. A general profile of farmers engaged in agricultural production in Ankara was also provided. Small area estimation with multinomial logit method using unit-level modeling has been utilized in the analyses. The results of the study show that each 1% increase in produce vulnerability raises the probability of applying the daily payment regime by 1.255% over unit-based piece-rate payment regime. In the case of plant/tree depreciation, lump sum payment regimes are preferred, regardless of produce characteristics. When crop categories are evaluated within each category, it is necessary to determine the most appropriate payment regime for each category. Therefore, a depreciation theory is developed within this study to minimize produce wastage and plant/tree depreciation. That is, the factors determining depreciation are also taken into account. In addition, the application of monitoring to harvesting laborers reduced produce wastage by 5.6% and reduced plant/tree depreciation by 7.1%. The study also examines labor-related issues in agricultural production around five themes mostly emphasized during the interviews, offers policy recommendations, and discusses them around current data from both Türkiye and Ankara.