Has Contract Farming Increased the Resilience of Farms in theCOVID-19 Pandemic? A Case Study from Turkey

This paper examines the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on contract farming (CF), focussing on buckwheat producers in Gümüşhane province in rural area of Turkey. Our research group was buckwheat producers in Gümüşhane province in Turkey across Gümüşhane’s three districts (Kelkit, Köse, and Şiran). According to empirical literature, CF improves livelihood alternatives and helps the economic development of rural areas. While COVID-19 affects the whole world, its impacts on CF has been a matter of curiosity. Thus, this paper starts with a definition of the phenomenon of CF, recent empirical studies and objectives. In order to understand the perceptions of the farmers engaged in contract farming in Gümüşhane regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on buckwheat production and marketing, 28 perception statements were presented. This study’s findings show that respondents underlined that they strongly agreed with the statements regarding the increase in the cost of agricultural inputs because of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has not had a negative impact on buckwheat farmers engaged in contract farming in many ways in the research area. There is still a need for authorities to manage effective crisis management plans and to launch resilience promoting policies like contract farming that aim at enhancing farmers’ capabilities.