Organic farming production surpasses 1.3 million tons

ISTANBUL

With strong government support, organic farming output surged 4.2-fold between 2002 and 2024 to exceed 1.3 million tonnes, while production under Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) grew nearly 109-fold between 2007 and 2024, reaching 6.1 million tonnes.

Farmers engaged in organic production have been supported since 2005. In this context, organic crop production rose from 310,125 tons in 2002 to 1,301,248 tons in 2024, marking a 320 percent increase. During the same period, the number of producers grew by 193 percent from 12,428 to 36,412, cultivated land expanded by 169 percent from 89,827 hectares to 241,490 hectares, and the variety of products rose by 79 percent from 150 to 268.

The number of organically raised animals also increased significantly. In 2005, there were 1,953 cattle, 10,066 sheep and goats and 890 poultry. By 2024, these figures had risen to 9,289 cattle, 4,088 sheep and goats and 541,661 poultry.

Organic beekeeping also expanded, with the number of producers rising from 370 in 2005 to 596 in 2024. The number of hives grew from 50,486 to 88,645, while honey production increased from 573 tons to 861 tons.

As of this year, the Organic Farming Expansion and Control Project is being implemented in 59 provinces through 93 sub-projects. Meanwhile, Good Agricultural Practices have been supported since 2008.

Under GAP, crop production rose from 56,000 tons in 2007 — produced by 651 farmers cultivating 25 crop types across 5,000 hectares — to 6.1 million tons in 2024, with 7,822 farmers producing 148 crop types across 393,000 hectares. This represents a nearly 109-fold increase compared to 2007.