Developing a set of indicators to measure sustainability of tea cultivating farms in Rize Province, Turkey

Sustainability of farms is frequently assessed by developing specific indicators. However, a common choice of indicators is rarely emphasized and it is almost impossible to adopt such indicators due to the different biophysical and geographical conditions of different countries and regions. Similarly, suggesting a common choice of indicators for tea farming appears quite challenging. This study was designed to develop a set of indicators for tea farming by considering the site-specific features. The methodological steps followed in this study were as follows: i) defining a number of possible factors based on the regional characteristics and life patterns of the people, (ii) defining the selection criteria and the validation procedures of the indicators, and (iii) selecting the directly usable indicators from previous farm-level sustainability studies. Self-validation, scientific validation, and social validation were performed. Expert's opinion and stakeholders’ participation were found to play a vital role in the validation and selection of the indicators. The data availability and scoring methods were also discussed. As a result, we developed a user-friendly methodology for selecting indicators and scoring methods for the qualitative indicators. The set of indicators identified in this study is totally site-specific. This study proposes a method for a convenient selection of indicators in a region with geographical and climatic diversity.