Women in Eastern Black Sea Agriculture: What do Household Surveys (not) Tell Us?

Liberalization in Turkish agriculture has been extended and accelerated in the last two decades. Neoliberal transformation in agriculture is reflected in rural households as poverty, and in the fight against poverty, households produce strategies for generating new income. This process resulted in more frequent observation of the phenomenon defined as feminization in agriculture. Although the existing contribution of women in agricultural production has increased with the feminization process in agriculture, it is almost impossible to see women in official statistics and surveys. Gender preconceived notions cause many of the data collected to be gender-blind. In this study, it was discussed whether there is feminization in agriculture through the Eastern Black Sea (TR 90) region, where there is a strong participation in the agricultural production of women. In TR 90 region, it has been determined that women are concentrated in non-agricultural jobs besides feminization in agriculture. However, in Turkey, inadequate representation of women in statistics and surveys hides existing gender inequalities. The production of sex-disaggregated data at the regional, household and individual levels is very important.