Category: Sayı 41, Kış 2026

Evrim Polat Yılmaz

Abstract: This article examines the trajectory of the “agrarian question” in Turkey using food regime theory and aims to explain how Turkish agriculture has been integrated into the world food system from the late Ottoman period to the present. It is a theoretical study based on documentary review of secondary sources and comparative-historical analysis. The findings show that across three food regime periods, colonial-diasporic, mercantile-industrial and corporate-neoliberal, Turkish agriculture has been commercialized and restructured in different ways through state policies and international institutions. These transformations have created new forms of dependency, inequality, and vulnerability by reshaping peasant livelihoods, production patterns and food security policies. As a manifestation of these structural changes, vulnerabilities such as exposure to food price volatility, import dependence and climate shocks are interpreted as evidences of the instability of the current corporate-neoliberal food regime. The article argues that neo-mercantilist food security, food sovereignty and agroecological initiatives can be interpreted as nascent elements of a possible fourth food regime.

Keywords: Food regimes, Agrarian change, Food security, Food sovereignty, Agroecology

Evrim Polat Yılmaz
DOI: 10.29224/insanveinsan.1793667
Issue 41, Winter 2026

Tam metin / Full text
(Turkish)

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Zöhre Akyol / Özge Cengiz

Abstract: This study analyzes pesticide-related news published between August 2024 and August 2025 in Hürriyet, Milliyet, Sabah, Sözcü, and Habertürk newspapers through content analysis, revealing how pesticide and food safety issues are framed in the media in terms of discourse and representation. Examining 169 news items, the research evaluates the types of sources used, actor representations, linguistic characteristics, and the presence of solution proposals. The findings show that official institutions and international organizations are the most frequently featured actors, while farmers, civil society organizations, and local actors are represented only to a limited extent. The absence of sources information in nearly one-third of the news points to issues of verifiability and transparency. In most cases, pesticides are mentioned only indirectly, with health-related harms emphasized while environmental and economic impacts remain in the background. Solutions are mostly presented at the individual level, with structural or scientific proposals being limited. Overall, current media practices appear inadequate in fostering public awareness and encouraging critical inquiry on pesticides and food safety, instead legitimizing dominant institutional discourses.

Keywords: Pesticide, Food safety, Media, Agricultural policy, Agricultural journalism

Zöhre Akyol / Özge Cengiz
DOI: 10.29224/insanveinsan.1793320
Issue 41, Winter 2026

Tam metin / Full text
(Turkish)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Serkan Şengül / Pınar Karahan-Dursun

Abstract: This study examines the determinants of agricultural total factor productivity (TFP) in Türkiye over the period 1991–2022 using the ARDL approach. The analysis incorporates agricultural credit, agricultural CO₂ emissions, human capital (average years of schooling), urbanization, and agricultural value added as explanatory variables. The Bounds test confirms the existence of a cointegration relationship among the variables. The long-run ARDL model results show that agricultural credit and urbanization have negative effects on TFP, while human capital and agricultural value added contribute positively. These signs are also confirmed by the short-run ARDL model. The empirical results indicate that agricultural CO₂ emissions are insignificant in the long run but exert a negative short-run effect, reflecting temporary stress and inefficiencies. Overall, the study provides important policy insights, emphasizing the need for financial reforms, human capital development, rural revitalization, value-chain strengthening, and climate-smart practices to sustain agricultural productivity growth.

Keywords: Agricultural productivity, Agricultural credit, Human capital, ARDL, Türkiye

Serkan Şengül / Pınar Karahan-Dursun
DOI: 10.29224/insanveinsan.1793544
Year 13, Issue 41, Winter 2026

Tam metin / Full text
(Turkish)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.