Aim:

The general aim of this program is to increase the income level in rural areas by increasing the competitiveness of production-oriented cooperatives and unions.

The specific aims of the program are:

1. Strengthening institutional capacity
2. Improving processing, packaging and storage processes
3. Increasing branding and marketing capacity

Background and Rationale for Intervention 

It is accepted by all segments that problems such as the sustainable development of underdeveloped regions in our country and the provision of justice in income distribution can be resolved through a well-organized and effective cooperative mechanism. Income, employment and standard of living of the population living in rural areas will increase with an effectively functioning cooperative, therefore, efficient cooperatives will act as a barrier against uncontrolled migration from rural areas to cities. For such reasons, it is necessary to establish a more professional and effective structure for cooperatives in our country and region, where the multiplier effect is quite high. In this context, the culture of doing business together in the 11th Development Plan, It is stated that there is a need to develop cooperatives, which are important in terms of their positive contribution to capital accumulation and income distribution. In addition, it is emphasized that cooperative activities should be encouraged in order to increase the contribution of individuals and small businesses to economic and social welfare during the plan period. 

Although it is known that there is a significant potential in the TR32 Region, which is one of the regions where cooperatives are made intensively in our country, it is observed that there are problems in the production, marketing, financing and management processes of the cooperatives. TR32 Level 2 Region 2014-2023 Regional Plan preparation process, as a result of the meetings and analyzes with the stakeholders, under the priority of "Creating an agricultural sector that produces information and quality focused, with high organization, productivity and marketing capacity", "Creating common sales channels for products that stand out in production, Measures such as “supporting partnership-based investments to increase the scale of agricultural enterprises, encouraging the organizations of producers and strengthening their institutional infrastructures” were included. 

In line with these reasons, our agency carried out a study titled "Current Situation and Development Strategies of Production-Oriented Cooperatives in the South Aegean Region" in 2016 in order to analyze the current situation of cooperatives in depth, to evaluate their competitive potential and development direction. Agricultural Development Cooperatives, Fisheries Cooperatives, Small Industrial Site Building Cooperatives, Small Art Cooperatives, Production Marketing Cooperatives and Women's Enterprise Business Cooperatives formed the scope of the study. Approximately 80% of the production-oriented cooperatives in our region are agricultural development cooperatives, while 8% are fisheries cooperatives. 

The study, which is an exemplary current situation analysis and strategy study for cooperatives at the provincial/district level in Turkey, includes the results of face-to-face interviews with cooperative managers as well as a comprehensive survey. As a result of the study, it was observed that the cooperatives in our region faced problems under the following headings that would constitute the intervention areas of the program:

Management and Organization Capacity

•Low rate of full-time professional employees, 
•Lack of training for management and employees,
•Lack of documentation regarding job descriptions and plans,
• Ineffective functioning of the audit mechanism

According to the outputs of the Current Situation Analysis and Development Strategies (2016) of Production-Oriented Cooperatives in the Southern Aegean Region; It is noteworthy that approximately 73% of the cooperatives do not have an organization or management chart, while approximately 80% of them do not have documentation on job descriptions and plans. This situation points to the problem of efficiency in the management and organization of cooperatives. About 80% of cooperatives do not have documentation of job descriptions and plans. When the level of education and the training received in the regional cooperatives are examined, it is seen that 48.4% of the heads of the cooperatives are primary school graduates and only 6.9% have a bachelor's degree. At the same time, cooperatives that have received “training for management and employees in the last 3 years” constitute only 34% of the interviewed cooperatives.

Production Processes:

•Insufficient cold air and storage facilities,
•Not following up-to-date information on production methods and technologies,
•Inability to use new methods in production,
• Inability to convert products into processed products

According to the outputs of the Current Situation Analysis and Development Strategies of Production-Oriented Cooperatives in the Southern Aegean Region; Among the interviewed cooperatives, approximately 9% of the cooperatives in Muğla and approximately 7% of the cooperatives in Aydın transform their products into processed products. Approximately 53% of the cooperatives in Denizli, approximately 39% of the cooperatives in Muğla and approximately 14% of the cooperatives in Aydın plan to convert their production into processed products. 9.4% (15 cooperatives) of the cooperatives within the scope of the study claim that they use a different method/technique in production compared to other cooperatives. In general, it is observed that the technical knowledge tendencies of the production-oriented cooperatives operating in the region are weak.

Marketing Processes:

•Inadequacy of tools used in marketing activities,
•Dependence on brokers in distribution channels,
• Inability to export, lack of brand and geographical indication

According to the outputs of the Current Situation Analysis and Development Strategies of Production-Oriented Cooperatives in the Southern Aegean Region; 80% of the cooperatives that transform their products into processed products sell their products directly to the consumer. 15.7% of the cooperatives that do not convert their products into processed products sell directly to the consumer. 63% of the cooperatives that sell their products to wholesalers experience collection problems arising from the sale of the products. According to the field study data, a very small portion of 1.4% of the cooperatives operating in the TR32 Region stated that they export.

Financial Capacity:

•Inability to benefit from credit/incentive/grant mechanisms,
•Insufficient capital, inability to benefit from bank loans,
•Collection problems,
 

According to the outputs of the Current Situation Analysis and Development Strategies of Production-Oriented Cooperatives in the Southern Aegean Region; only 37% of the interviewed cooperatives benefited from government incentives, loans or grants. Most of the cooperatives use their own resources for financing needs, and secondly, they prefer public banks. While 21% of the interviewed cooperatives find their current capital sufficient, 79% do not find their capital sufficient. Only 17% of the interviewed cooperatives used bank loans in the last 3 years and mostly public banks were preferred. Approximately 30% of the cooperatives experience collection problems arising from the sale of their products.

In this direction; "Strengthening Producer Organizations" result-oriented program was designed in line with the problems that arise in producer organizations and the areas of intervention for these problems.

In 2019; Within the scope of the technical monitoring visit organized under the leadership of Anadolu Birlik Holding and GEKA in order to improve the institutional capacities of producer organizations operating in the South Aegean Region, a delegation of approximately 50 people from Aydın, Denizli and Muğla, consisting of representatives of cooperatives, unions, provincial directorates of agriculture and chambers of agriculture, attended a technical monitoring visit. has joined. Inspired by the best practices and achievements of TORKU, Turkey's strongest cooperative brand of cooperatives and unions in the South Aegean Region, TORKU's ÇUMRA Campus, MERAM campus and SEYDİBEY Campus were visited.

 In addition, contracts were signed with 20 projects within the scope of the Financial Support Program for Strengthening Cooperatives and Unions in 2018, and 7,147,244.65 TL resources were allocated to these projects. The most important risk within the scope of the Result-Oriented Program is the weak institutional capacity of production-oriented cooperatives and unions. In this direction, it is foreseen that the risks will be eliminated with the training and consultancy to be provided by the Agency, the contribution and guidance of the upper unions and umbrella organizations.

Outcome and Output Goals 

Table 1: Strengthening Producer Organizations SOP Outcome Objectives

Güney Ege Bölgesi’nde Kooperatiflerin Mevcut Durumu ve Gelişme Stratejileri

Güney Ege Bölgesi Arıcılık Ürünleri Sektör Raporu

Güney Ege Bölgesi Zeytinyağı İmalatı Sektör Raporu