Bülent Gülçubuk

Competition Can Change a Lot: Striking Results Regarding Women from Rural Areas in Turkey

The Republic of Turkey Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock has been organising a competition, whose title is “Women Farmers Contest” and which aims to promote social status of women who live in rural areas and are engaged in farming, to provide efficient knowledge, in Turkey since 2004. The aim of the competition is to evaluate the knowledge and performance of women farmers, to assess the outcomes of training-publications for these women, to raise self-confidence of these women, to raise consciousness of healthy nutrition and producing high quality crop, and to offer and increase entrepreneurship. The Competition awards prizes, which are cash money, loan support, tractor and other equipment supports, livestock and agricultural insurance to women, invite them at city, regional and national levels competition. The competition takes places among women farmers based in the rural areas of 81 cities in Turkey. Those who participates in in the final phase of the city, region and Turkey Competition answer various questions such as plant production, animal breeding, agricultural mechanisation, nutrition, child development, agricultural enterprise, agricultural organisation, family ownership management, and handcrafts. “Women Farmers Contest”, which is a knowledge-based competition and has been organised among women based in rural areas since 2004, generates huge excitement and creates competition environment among women and families.