Development of organic animal production in Turkey

Summary

Turkey is located at a point where the three continents are making up the old world. Europe, Asia and Africa are close to each other thus, making it is a pre-eminent centre of commerce for centuries. Turkey’s surface area is 814,578 sq km of which 790,200 sq km are in Asia (Anatolia) and 24.378 sq km are in Europe. Turkey is divided into seven regions (Ege, Marmara, Blacksea, Mediterranean, Central Anatolia, East Anatolia and South East Anatolia Regions). The prevailing climate in Turkey is hot dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior. Terrain is composed of mostly mountains, narrow coastal plains and high central plateau. Because of its geographical conditions, the mainland of Anatolia has been
found as favourable location for settlement throughout history. Turkey has a suitable position for organic agriculture because of its different ecosystems and rich biodiversity. In addition to this, about 40 % population are engaged in agriculture. Total cultivated agricultural area is estimated to be 22,156,234 hectares. Currently, only 103,190 hectares of total agricultural area is in use for organic farming (~0.5% of agricultural land). The aim of this paper is to show the development of organic farming and to determine the possibilities for the future development of organic animal production in Turkey.