Domesticating a superfood: research, extension, and farmer agency in Turkey’s avocado boom

Abstract This article examines the historical and ongoing role of public agricultural research and extension in shaping avocado production in southern Turkey. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork, expert interviews, and documentary analysis, I find that the making of Turkey’s avocado production base owes to a century-long state involvement in agricultural research and development. Contrary to the assumption that global markets single-handedly shape contemporary production and export geographies in the global South, in the case of Turkey’s avocado production it is not the market per se , but extensionists on the ground who actively advocate for risk-taking, efficient, export-oriented production methods. Despite the push for export-oriented production, smallholders continue to prioritize the domestic market by choosing to produce locally popular and more cold-hardy cultivars that are less prone to frost damage. Findings suggest that while public agricultural research and development were indispensable in creating the material conditions for this high-value crop boom in southern Turkey, farmers’ agency and local contextual factors ultimately shape the trajectory of this production geography. The analysis also demonstrates a persistent disconnect between the state’s agricultural vision and farmers’ realities, which explains why the avocado boom has remained a primarily domestic, rather than export-oriented, phenomenon.