Türkiye: Organic farming is growing but its significance is still small

Still of little importance Organic farming has gained significant momentum in Turkey this century, but it still plays a minor role. According to media reports in mid-November, citing the Ministry of Agriculture in Ankara, a total of about 1.6 million tons of agricultural products were produced using organic methods last year. The area cultivated in this way is estimated at 343,000 hectares, which would constitute 1.6 percent of Turkey's total agricultural area. In 2002, the share was just 0.3 percent. Growing subsidies Last month, the Turkish Ministry of Agriculture allocated 74 million Turkish liras to support organic farming. The previous year, it was 46.6 million liras. In total, the ministries of agriculture have so far allocated about 9.8 billion liras to support organic farming. The ministry also said it was implementing measures to promote and ...