Paper Title
Rural Development and Livestock Husbandry in Turkey
Abstract
Livestock is important for adequate and balanced nutrition in Turkey as well as all over the World and for use as raw material in many fields of industry. According to The World Health Organization (WHO), a healthy person should consume 1 gram of protein for per gram of the weight and 42% of the protein should be animal origin. In addition to feeding, livestock sector has an important place in the economy of Turkey. According to the data of The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), agricultural sector constituted 4.3% 's of the world's gross national product in 2012.The livestock sector constituted 36% of the agricultural gross domestic products. This rate was 52% in EU, 44% in US, and it remained at about 32% 's in developing countries. Turkey has an important potential for the presence of animals. Turkey has 25 million sheeps, nearly 10 million cattles and 6.5 million goats. Despite this, yield per animal is very low and consumption of animal products per capita is not sufficient. Livestock, has become an industry in developed countries, It has been an integral part of the economy. This situation reveals that agriculture and livestock are strategic sectors that should be developed at national level. Animal production in Turkey comes after crop production because livestock is not considered as a commercial activity. Livestock breeding is not given enough importance in terms of rural development. However rural development will increase as the level of animal husbandry develops and rural development will increase the development level of countries. This study examines the problems and will try to make suggestions on solving these problems..
Keywords- livestock, rural development, Turkey, sustainability, agriculture.