Research Information System
CUSTOS E AGRONEGOCIO, vol.20, no.2, pp.245-265, 2025 (SCI-Expanded, SSCI, Scopus)
In order to meet the animal food needs of people adequately and safely, this sector is tried to be guided by various agricultural policy tools. In this study, the contribution of credit and grant supports provided for livestock farming in Turkey to producer costs was examined. The research data were obtained in 2024 from 111 producers determined in the areas where intensive livestock farming is carried out in the Central Anatolia region. Breeders were divided into three groups according to the number of animals and compared, and the difference between the groups was tested with ANOVA. The results of livestock breeding activities were analyzed by indicators such as feeding time, live weight gain, carcass weight, feed utilization rate and production costs. In Turkey, livestock production supports have a share of 24% in total agricultural supports. Among the supports provided for livestock production, subsidized loans and fattening calf support stand out in terms of utilization rate and amount. The average number of livestock of breeders is 39 and the average fattening period is approximately 8 months. The average weight gain at the end of fattening period is 258 kg head-1 and the average carcass yield is 56.3%. The average variable costs of the participating livestock breeders were 51675.1 ₺ (91.4%), the average fixed costs were 4860.1 ₺ (8.6%) and the total production costs were 56535.2 ₺. Among the loans and grant supports, subsidized loans have the highest utilization rate (68%), followed by grant supports (28%) and young breeder support loans (4%). As the scale of the feeders increases, the level of utilization of grants and credit supports also increases. As a result of this, while the average costs per animal in the breeder groups were close to each other before the supports, when the contribution of the supports to the costs was taken into consideration, the cost difference between the first group (11.6%) and the third group (33.3%) increased three times. There is a need for reforms to increase the impact of subsidies, which have a low impact in Turkey. It would be useful to improve access to subsidized credit for small-scale subsistence family livestock breeders. In order to revitalize the livestock sector, general economic conditions (especially inflation, interest rates and exchange rates) need to be improved and fluctuations in input markets need to be resolved. In addition to economic sustainability, it is recommended to investigate the effects of environmental, social factors and climate change on the sustainability of livestock activities.