Türkiye’deki Hayvancılık Alanının Mekansal Kalıplarını Coğrafi Varyanslarla Bağlama

Abstract

The livestock sector is considered as an essential economic source in the economic policies of many developing countries in the world. The present research aims to analyse the spatial association and dependence of livestock in Turkey by using the exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA) technique. Livestock data of 966 cities from 2004 to 2017 have been used to detect spatial distribution, clusters and hotspot areas of cattle and small ruminants’ populations. It has been revealed that livestock production is strongly associated with the natural environmental characteristics of spatial units throughout the country. Spatial autocorrelation has shown the positive values for both cattle and small ruminants, but stronger for the latter. Besides, a change in the clusters of cattle populations has also been observed over the selected period. Apart from the natural environmental factors, several socio-economic issues like rural outmigration, government policies, industrial requirements and regional disparities have also been found responsible for the change in the spatial patterns of livestock. The research provides significant outcomes for better allocation of resources in priority areas to develop the livestock sector. Moreover, it also facilitates pointing out the potential areas of livestock development in the future.