Sustainable Use of Medicinal Aromatic Plants and Employment of Women in Its Production: Case of Kumbag-Ucmakdere Area

Abstract

Turkey, with a plant species of about 9000, is one of the countries hosting a rich natural flora in the climate belt it is located in. Considering the fact that Europe which is 15 times larger than Turkey hosts 12 000 species, our natural wealth can be seen more clearly. As the cornerstone of the agriculture sector in Turkey, an important element of the agricultural businesses the participation of women in the work power is 23.4%, which is considerably lower than the average of European Union (58.3%). In this study, with the example of Kumbag-Ucmakdere, what could be done for the utilisation of the women employment potential in terms of economics and the sustainable use of natural flora wealth is discussed. As a result of the study it was found out that the most widely collected plants in these villages were linden, oregano and sage, most commonly marketed products were linden (51.0%), sage (39.2%) and oregano (21.6%). In accordance with the findings of the study it was also discovered that in the condition of earning a reasonable income from these plants the women would continue the related activities (60.7%).