Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Journal of Tekirdag Agricultural Faculty, cilt.21, sa.5, ss.1112-1129, 2024 (ESCI, Scopus, TRDizin)
In Turkey, grape cultivation is directly affected by the adverse effects of climate change. Viticulture has an important for the Turkish economy with a production of approximately 4.2 million tons. However, the viticulture sector is facing climate-related risks, including drought, which threaten the livelihoods’ producers. Additionally, there is a lack of information regarding the extent to which livelihoods’producers, both in general agricultural enterprises and specifically grape producers, are vulnerable to climate change and how this vulnerability varies among regions. This study aims to fill this gap. There has been no prior study that measures livelihood vulnerability to climate change in Turkey, neither in general for agricultural enterprises nor specifically for grape producers. The primary data for this study were collected through face-to-face interviews with 466 grape producers who operate in 35 districts of 8 provinces, which are among the major grape producers in 6 regions of Turkey. The Livelihood Effect Index (LEI) was used to calculate livelihood vulnerability. In the calculation of the LEI index, the capital elements possessed by enterprises were evaluated under separate headings, such as human capital, social capital, natural capital, financial capital, and physical capital. In addition, the exposure levels of enterprises to climate change were also assessed. As a result of the study, among the climate events faced by enterprises, extreme drought (2.25) and temperature increases (2.01) were found to be above the moderate level, while other climate events faced by enterprises included delayed rainfall season (1.94), frost events (1.77), shortened rainfall season (1.70), and hail events (1.68). Additionally, the Livelihood Effect Index (LEI) value for grape producers was calculated as 0.44, indicating that producers have a moderate susceptibility to the effects of shocks such as climate change on their livelihoods. It was observed that physical capital element constituted the most vulnerable capital element (0.790) for enterprises when faced with disasters such as climate change. Financial capital (0.582) and natural capital (0.436) had a moderate impact on the vulnerability of livelihoods. In provinces with higher livelihood vulnerability, such as Malatya (0.495), Adıyaman (0.490), and Elazığ (0.475), there is a need for activities to increase adaptation levels. The results may guide relevant stakeholders and policymakers in developing adaptation strategies, considering the different sensitivity levels of enterprise structures and the varying dimensions of exposure of climate change.