Comparison of Conventional Production and Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) in Greenhouse Grown Strawberry

Abstract

Today, the importance of safe food is increasing for all consumers. Increased consumer awareness has increased the importance of human health and environmentally sensitive systems. Environmentally friendly production systems, which have several different names, have increased and studies on this subject have become widespread. Increasing in Turkey gradually, approximately 15.00 per cent of strawberry production areas are located in Aydın, and more than 50.00 per cent of strawberry production have been maintaining in Sultanhisar, Aydın. In 2017, more than 400 producers produced strawberries on an area of 9000 decares in Sultanhisar. There are 306 strawberry producers registered in the farmer registration system. Among these 306 farmers, 90 farmers have implemented good agriculture practices while the rest 216 farmers maintain conventional agricultural production. The material of the research is the data obtained from the interviews conducted with the producers making greenhouse cultivation, who applied good agriculture and conventional production in the same production technology in Aydın in 2017. In this survey, 112 randomly selected producers were interviewed face to face. Producers who did not switch to good agricultural practice stated that they could not pass because of several reasons including the bureaucratic transactions, land owner unwillingness to make a lease agreement, and the deed of their land was held by more than one owner. However, they expressed that they were willing to move to good agricultural practice. On the other hand, the producers who applied good agriculture stated that they started good agricultural practice due to the support of the state, and that good agricultural practice increased the product quality.