THE GLOBAL WINDOW OF TURKISH FOOD AND AGRICULTURE The Global Window of Turkish Food and Agriculture Sector
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Organic agriculture activities in our Turkey are carried out within the framework of the Organic Agriculture Law No. 5262 and the regulation in this context. According to TURKSTAT (Turkish Statistical Institute) production of 213 varieties in Turkey takes place in the area of 540,000 ha as organic agricultural activities. In İzmir province, organic farming activities are carried out in 26 districts, with 126 variety of products, on a 24,658 ha area and with 3221 producers.
Mustafa Özen, İzmir Provincial Director of Agriculture and Forestry, who made an evaluation about the activities of organic agriculture in İzmir region, said, “Organic agriculture; It is an alternative form of production that aims not only to increase the quantity but also to increase the quality of the product. Organic farming is done in 7 percent of our total agricultural areas in İzmir. This rate is above the average across Turkey. We are a pioneer city in organic, because most of the organic exports are made from our province, the majority of the organic businesses are operating here and the organic fair is also held in Izmir.”
Stating that 14 out of those organizations, authorized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, who controls the organic farming activities and certifications and also have a good position around the world are operating in İzmir, Mustafa Özen noted, “This city is the birthplace of organic farming and we want all production in this city to be organic and everyone to be fed organic.”
“We are waiting for all our producers to DİTAP”
Pointing out that their priority is to maintain the current number before increasing the number of farmers in organic farming activities, Özen added, “Problems experienced in marketing organic products need to be resolved. At this point, we are expecting all our producers to DİTAP, our online platform where they can sell their products at a value price, bringing together producers and buyers.”
“They can log in to DİTAP (Digital Agriculture Market) with e-Government passwords via ditap.gov.tr or digitaltarimpazari.gov.tr addresses. All our producers registered in the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Farmer Registration System (ÇKS) can register as SELLERS and meet with buyers on this platform. In addition, we are working to increase the number of organic markets in İzmir and ensure that the producers deliver their products to consumers in more of places and frequent times.”
