The Agricultural Credit Cooperatives of Turkey Serbia which was Ottoman territory at the time), with the establishment of “Homeland Funds” (“Memleket Sandıkları”) in 1863 and it gained pace with the foundation of the Republic of Turkey as new laws on cooperatives were enacted. The ACC with its modern nomenclature and structure was established based on law number 2836 which was passed in 1935. The ACC’s foundation was supported by the first president of the Republic of Turkey Kemal Atatürk who was also the first member of the cooperative in Silifke – Tekir Çiftliği. Due to the enforcement of law number 1581 on Agricultural Credit Cooperatives and
Demographics of Turkey way, emphasizing that a "Türk" is anyone who is a citizen of the Republic of Turkey. Currently, article 66 of the Turkish Constitution defines a ""Turk"" as anyone who is "bound to the Turkish state through the bond of citizenship". Ethnic Turks are the majority in Turkey, numbering 55.5 to 60 million. The Kurdish identity remains the strongest of the many minorities in modern Turkey. This is perhaps due to the mountainous terrain of the southeast of the country, where they predominate and represent a majority. They inhabit all major towns and cities across Turkey, however. No accurate up-to-date figures