Socio - Economic Structure and Problems of Thyme Producing Farms in Denizli Province

The aim of this study is to investigate the socio-economic structure of the farms producing thyme in denizli province and to determine their problems. we specifically selected denizli province which have 92.49% of total oregano acreage and 87.55% of the production in turkey. data were obtained by survey method face- to-face interviewing with 58 farmers producing thyme. the data-set belonged to 2019 production year. the average age of the thyme farmers was 51.47 years, the average number of their family members was 4.60 people per family, their average plant production experience 25.57 years, and their thyme production experience was 17.05 years. when the production pattern of the stakeholders is examined; the total cultivation area was 66.01 da and 81.69% of it is cultivated for thyme production. as the main problems encountered in thyme production and marketing stages were weed management, the absence of alternative buyers no other than the merchant who decide the price in the market. in addition, a swot analysis was conducted to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the thyme sector.