Producing Geographical Indication Products from the Farmers' Perspective: Kelkit Dry Beans

A locally sourced, high quality food supply is seen as viable and preferable. Geographical indications (GIs) help consumers to identify products from specific locations. Therefore, GIs create intellectual property rights for specific products linked to their production area. Nonetheless, the adoption of this kind of labels by smallholders in agricultural production is low. GIs have an important role to play in improving regional competitiveness and supporting the agricultural economy. They also ensure the sustainable development of agriculture and the revitalisation of rural areas. The applicability and sustainability of GIs are directly linked to both the positive experiences of farmers involved in the production and marketing of GI products, and the motivation of those who are not yet part of the process. The aim of this study is to examine the production and marketing processes of GI products from the perspective of farmers. The research, conducted on Kelkit Dry Beans one of Türkiye’s geographically indicated (GI) agricultural products aims to reveal how GIs influence farmers in terms of production and marketing. In addition, the study explores the motivational factors that may influence the participation of non-GI dry bean producers in the GI production process. Primary data were collected through face-to-face interviews with dry bean farmers in the Kelkit, Şiran, and Köse districts of Gümüşhane province, Türkiye. A total of 100 dry bean growers were interviewed during the 2021 survey 50 of whom used GI-registered seeds and 50 who did not. According to the findings of this study, farmers who expected to achieve higher prices for their products by improving their quality were unable to meet these expectations after switching to geographically indicated production. In addition, it has been determined that there is no improvement in the access of farmers producing geographically indicated dry beans to alternative markets and that they experience problems arising from buyers. Farmers producing dry beans with a geographical indication differ from those producing them without GI in terms of the importance they give to motivational factors such as easier marketing of their products, obtaining higher prices for them, and obtaining financial support from the regional dry bean producer union or contract buyers. They also attach more importance to these factors. It is considered that the negative experiences of farmers currently producing geographically indicated dry beans have an impact on this situation.