Characterization and typologies of dairy goat farms in the Mediterranean region: A case of Italy and Turkey

Abstract

Abstract Our objective was to classify and characterize dairy goat farms on the basis of some socio-economic aspects in two Mediterranean countries, Italy and Turkey. Random samples of 11 farms from the north-eastern part of Italy and of 18 farms from Canakkale province in the west region of Turkey have been used. Farmers were interviewed using 44 indicators related to general farm characteristics based on socio-economic structure. For the classification of farms, Principal Component Analysis and cluster analysis have been performed. Farms have been classified into 4 clusters. Cluster 1 (6 farms, 20.7 %) included “Intensive/Semi-intensive, medium-sized with high owned land area, using technology Italian farms”. Cluster 2 (5 farms, 17.2 %) included “Intensive/Semi-intensive, large-sized with high amount of concentrate feed supply, using technology and with highly cheese production Italian farms”. Cluster 3 (14 farms, 48.3 %) included “Semi-intensive, medium-sized, mostly member of cooperatives, directly raw milk seller Turkish farms”. Cluster 4 (4 farms, 13.8 %) included “Intensive/semi-intensive, large-sized with high land area, member of cooperatives, work with highly hired labour, directly raw milk seller Turkish farms”. Results of this study point out the main differences between Italian and Turkish farms, mostly related to the farmer education level, the use of technology, the marketing and organization structure, and the milk yield. However, the older age of the farmers, their membership of union breeders and their commitment to a second economic activity to provide extra income were the more common features. In conclusion, taking into account this socio-economic variety between countries, outcomes of this study might help to identify some possible requirements for developing new strategies and policies on the dairy goat sector during the EU-harmonization process in Turkey.