Policy formation in the process of implementing agricultural reform in Turkey

In 2001, Turkey adopted the Agricultural Reform Implementation Project (ARIP). This reform changed the practical instruments of policy intervention without questioning the underlying policy paradigm. A major driving force behind ARIP was the World Bank, which provided policy advice and the necessary financial support. The primary goal was to make Turkish agriculture more compatible with the WTO principles as well as the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in view of its possible future membership. This study describes the policy process of reform in Turkey, analyses the policy formation concerning ARIP and discusses its political implications. This paper argues that predatory rather than productive policies characterise the process agricultural reform in Turkey.