BigCat Research

FESAS Social Impact Research: 7,000+ Data Sources

We carried out one of Turkey's most comprehensive agricultural impact studies at European Union and World Bank standards. By conducting a deep field operation with 6,000 workers and 1,000 farmers in 6 provinces, we performed refugee integration and employment impact analysis.

Client / partners: World Bank, European Union, Agricultural Credit Cooperatives

Year: 2024

Project type: International Impact Analysis

Status: Completed

Project impact: Transparent data and macro policy support at international standards (SROI).

Background from public sources

The programme

FESAS (Formal Employment Support in Agricultural Sector) is a project aimed at formalising agricultural employment in Türkiye. The European Union funded it with a €47 million grant through its Facility for Refugees in Türkiye; the World Bank managed it and the Agricultural Credit Cooperatives of Türkiye (Tarım Kredi Kooperatifleri) implemented it. It covered six provinces: Adana, Adıyaman, Bursa, Gaziantep, İzmir and Mersin.[1][2]

Target group and approach

The project targeted refugees and Turkish citizens seeking formal jobs in agriculture, together with the farmers who employ them. Eligible farmers received temporary wage subsidies to offset the cost of formal hiring and training on worker management; workers had their skills assessed and received technical and soft-skills training, with language training for Syrians where needed. Databases of workers and vacancies and a matching algorithm were built.[1]

Timeframe and results

Full implementation in all six provinces began in February 2022; within three months 1,348 workers had signed formal employment contracts, 353 of them refugees. According to a World Bank feature of July 2026, the project concluded in June 2025 after five years of implementation, creating more than 12,200 formal jobs with 1,638 participating farmers; nearly 40% of supported workers were women, and over half of participating farmers employed refugees. A second phase launched in 2026.[1][2]

BigCat Research's role

According to BigCat Research's project record, the research was carried out in 2024 for the World Bank, the European Union and the Agricultural Credit Cooperatives, with fieldwork covering 6,000 workers and 1,000 farmers in 6 provinces to analyse refugee integration and employment impact. The World Bank sources do not mention this research or its findings.[3]

Sources

  1. World Bank, Employing refugees while supporting the agricultural sector in Türkiye, 2022-06-20. Accessed 2026-10-15
  2. World Bank, Türkiye pushes to formalize and insure farm labor, 2026-07-21. Accessed 2026-10-15
  3. BigCat Research, FESAS Sosyal Etki Araştırması: 7.000+ Veri Kaynağı (proje kaydı). Accessed 2026-10-15