Organic Plant Production in Kocaeli /Turkey and Proposals for Growth of Organic Plant Farming

Abstract

Organic agricultural production is targeted to be 8% in Turkey in 2020. In this context there are governmental supports for organic agricultural producers such as direct income support, product based support and support for the producers who enter the Protection of Agricultural Land for Environmental Purposes Programme. Although Kocaeli is mostly known as an industrial province, the province has considerable potencial for agricultural plant production via temperate climate and generous land. In the city there are total of 93852.1 ha cultivated area consisted
of vegetable plantation, fruit orchards and crops fields. The increase of organic agricultural plantations in the city will help protection of agricultural land, water and soil resources. In addition, agricultural-based pollution will be reduced through the legal control of inputs in
organic farming. According to the data of the year 2017, there are totally 9 registered organic plant producer farmers in Kocaeli. 2 of them are certified organic plant producers , the other 2 of them are in both organic and transition period and the remaining 5 farmers are only in the
status of transition period. The 9 registered organic plant farmers carried out their plant production in 9 different villages in Kandıra, Gebze, Karamürsel, Gölcük, Körfez and İzmit districts in Kocaeli. They produce different kind of crop, vegetables and fruit on a commercial scales. In
this study some suggestions are made for the increase of organic plant production for the city by considering the latest organic plant production data obtained from Kocaeli Provincial Directorate of Ministry of Food Agriculture and Livestock.