Producer Perceptions Regarding Policies Implemented for Sustainable Lemon Production and Trade During the Covid-19 Pandemic: The Case of Mersin

This study examined producer approaches against the precautions and measures applied during the Covid-19 pandemic in Mersin province, the center of lemon production and export in Türkiye. It is aimed to determine the effects and reflections of the measures and precautions implemented to lemon production during the Covid-19 pandemic. The data were collected by proportional sampling technique between April and June 2021 from 95 producers. The opinions of lemon producers on the precautions and measures applied during the pandemic were determined by cluster analysis. Ward technique and K-mean technique were used. In the first cluster, the most important criteria are "Leave flexibility for seasonal workers," "Curfew exemption for farmers," and "Facilitate access to the market" while in the second cluster, "Defferal of cooperative debts" and “Curfew exemption for producers" was determined as the most important criteria. The most effective precautions and measures were determined by multidimensional scaling. According to the results of non-metric multidimensional scaling analysis results, similar precautions and measures applied during the pandemic were grouped around the origin. On the other hand, the measure of “obtaining a pre-export permit" took place away from the group and differed from others. The exemption of the labor force from the lockdown restrictions in lemon farming, a labor-intensive mode of production, enabled the use of labor. This measure, taken to prevent production interruptions during the pandemic period, prevented possible problems in lemon production. However, applying preliminary permits and restrictions for lemon exports adversely affected exports. It also caused domestic prices to fall. Today, when possible pandemic conditions are discussed, it is crucial to determine the measures to be applied for food safety and sustainability by considering domestic and foreign market conditions.