Türkiye boosts agriculture with over 11 bln liras of support

ANKARA

Türkiye's Agriculture Ministry has been actively supporting the growth and development of organic and sustainable agriculture practices since 2005, providing billions of Turkish Liras in financial assistance to producers.

According to information obtained by state-run Anadolu Agency, the government has paid 46.6 million liras in organic agriculture support payments in 2023 and 74 million liras as of October of this year. In total, the ministry has made 5.6 billion liras ($300 million) in organic agriculture support payments so far.

As a result of these efforts, Türkiye has seen a significant expansion in organic production. In 2023, the country produced approximately 1.6 million tons of organic products across 259 varieties, cultivated on 343,000 hectares of land. The share of organic agricultural area in Türkiye's total agricultural land has increased from 0.3 percent in 2002 to 1.6 percent in 2023.

The ministry is also implementing the Dissemination and Control of Organic Agriculture Project in 59 of the country’s 81 provinces to further promote and regulate the organic sector.

In addition to organic farming, Türkiye has also been supporting the adoption of good agricultural practices. Since 2008, the ministry has provided 49.2 million liras in support payments in 2023 and 77.2 million liras as of October of this year. The ministry has made support payments totaling 5.4 billion liras over the 2008-2024 period.

Launched in 12 provinces in 2012, the Dissemination and Control of Good Agricultural Practices Project has since grown to 58 provinces with 81 active projects.

As a result of the ministry's efforts and financial support, the area under good agricultural practices has grown from 5,000 hectares producing 56,000 tons in 2007 to 372,000 hectares producing 6.1 million tons in 2023.

In total, the support payments made by the Agriculture Ministry within the scope of organic and good agricultural practices have reached 11 billion liras (over $580 million).

These substantial investments in organic and sustainable agriculture reflect Türkiye's commitment to promote environmentally friendly farming practices, improve food quality and safety, and support the livelihoods of its agricultural producers.