100 % Organic Farmers’ Markets in Turkey

Organic agriculture began in Turkey in 1984-1985 in response to the demand for organically cultivated raisins and figs - Turkey’s traditional exports. By 1990 only 8 products were cultivated organically, but by 1999 the number had risen to 92. The1037 ha of agricultural land cultivated organically in 1990 had increased to 44,552 ha by 1999 and the number of producers rose from 300 to 12,435 in the same period. In 2005, the area of organically certified agricultural land was 175,000 ha and the number of farmers was, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, around 9,500.

Picture: Victor Ananias (right) and the Bugday-Team

Because product variety was determined wholly by the requirements of western markets, nuts and dried products constituted the biggest share of production. As the local market improves, demand changes, and consequently there is now an increase in the production and marketing of grains, oil seeds, fresh fruit and vegetables, some animal products and value-added goods. The first players in organic farming in Turkey were a few European buyers, their local representatives and contracted farmers. In fact, this situation did not change until 2000, when steps were taken to create and develop the domestic market for organics.

For thousands of years, markets in Anatolia have been dynamic places of assembly where fair, open exchange took place to satisfy people’s basic needs. The ‘agoras’ (marketplaces in antiquity) can still be seen, and the ruins are evidence of a trading structure in ancient times. The spirit of this past can still be felt here, especially at today’s weekly open-air markets that sell fresh food, fruit and vegetables in every district of the cities, and in every town and village. Even though these markets still account for a major part of food sales, the big supermarkets and hypermarkets are attracting a lot of consumer interest. Another reason is that, because of the wholesale system and current legislation, the marketplaces in the big cities are no longer directly accessible to farmers. So this perfect system for fair and transparent trade is being subjected to pressure and manipulation by agressively competative retailing.

The Bugday Association (Bugday means ‘wheat’ in Turkish), the initiator of the model market “100 % Organic Farmers’ Market” is an NGO, a democratic grassroots organisation working at national level in Turkey. With its launch in 1990, Bugday was the first movement in Turkey to combine an understanding of responsible  production and consumption behaviour and to build sustainable models - a strong network locally and globally to address these issues. The Bugday Association runs various projects dealing with organic agriculture and the consumption of organics and addresses all aspects from the political to the support for production and consumption. For example, “TaTuTa” (Agriculture, Tourism, Exchange) holidays and voluntary work on organic farms in Turkey are an initiative that Bugday launched in 2003. Bugday is the member for Turkey of ECEAT (European Centre fo Ecological Agro-Tourism) and WWOOF (Willing Workers on Organic Farms).

Bugday has been an IFOAM member since 2000, and it has actively promoted the principles of organic agriculture in Turkey as well as working together with and advising all stakeholders including government bodies, certification bodies, farmers and producers of all sizes, consumers, traders at all levels, research and education institutions, etc. Its objective is to develop and maximise the practice and potential of sustainable organic production, consumption and fair trading.

On 17 June 2006, the first Organic Farmers’ Market in Turkey was launched by the Bugday Association for Supporting Ecological Living in the Sisli district of Istanbul. The market opens every Saturday and has been operating successfully under the coordination and control of Bugday.

Even though this first marketplace in Istanbul has been running for nearly two years now, the idea of a fair organic farmers’ market was an innovation developed throughout the 15 years of the Bugday movement. All the effort invested in establishing a strong domestic market in Turkey showed that the most effective way to achieve Bugday’s objective was most likely to be the weekly farmers’ markets held in the local community. The idea was that they would largely follow the pattern of the traditional markets, such as being mostly open-air, a point where everyone could meet, with lower costs added to the product price, and with direct communication between the consumer and producers or sellers.

There were three main challenges - difficulties that were addressed and solved by the organisers of the 100% Organic Market. These were:

• insufficient knowledge, awareness and trust on the part of Turkish consumers and not enough demand. The misleading image of organics (for Turkey’s conditions) as “very expensive, not for middle-income people”
• not enough producers believing that there would be a market for their produce, and consequently very little variety, especially of organic fresh fruit and vegetables
• legislation covering the wholesale trade in fresh fruit and vegetables that prevents farmers from selling their produce directly in the cities

All the strategic and organisational decisions during the preparation and running of the market were taken in keeping with the following principles:
 
Ecological: all products sold in these markets have to be certified organic in compliance with Turkish national standards and support the environmental systems and livelihoods as a whole at the point of production.

Healthy food for all: the aim is to enable consumers at all income levels to buy food at affordable prices. The Bugday team checks the prices of fresh fruit and vegetables at conventional markets and other outlets every week and, together with the producers, decides the prices to be charged at the organic markets within a range +/-20% compared with conventional products. 

Fairness: only producers and farmers or their representatives are allowed to sell their produce. Consumers have access to organic food at a reasonable price as a result of the price controls, particularly on fresh products. Fair trade for everybody is the objective, and is supported at every stage of the organisation. Networking between producers is also supported and strengthened to achieve better cooperation within the growing web of organic producers.

Sustainability: the number of producer and consumer groups is growing, and their knowledge of organics is increasing. At the same time, individuals are supported continuously by publications, conferences, seminars, public social events and the regular use of all the different media. Sustainability of the marketplace is closely linked to the sustainability of balanced ecological livelihoods. 

Even though the first market project went through a strict planning phase, in practice there were many tasks which occurred unexpectedly and there were many new ideas that affected operations. We can differentiate two main phases: preparation and operation. 

The preparatory phase took about six months. First, the contract with the Municipality was signed after long discussions with the Mayor and his team. There was a lot of opposition from the officials, and it was necessary to spend a lot of time lobbying and educating the Municipality. The Bugday team also had to work hard at lobbying the existing marketplace organisations, who were not so positive owing to the risk of possible competition between the organic and conventional marketplaces. To convince producers was another challenge, because they needed to plan production and required technical support, and they had to be convinced that enough people would buy their products at the markets.

In recent years, consumer education has been one of the main operational tasks undertaken by the Bugday Association, and an effective public relations programme in the media, along with its other ongoing activities, has helped to attract a fast-growing number of interested consumers. Careful book-keeping, evaluation, control and planning are jobs carried out by the organisers. Another priority has been lobbying in respect of legislation and has produced positive results in as far as organic products are treated separately in respect of the sale of fresh fruit and vegetables.

As the coordinator Batur Sehirlioglu, a devoted promoter of the organic market, says: “An incredible investment is being made in the organic sector, for humanity, nature as a whole andr our collective future by organising our 100 % Organic Marketplaces with practically no institutional or personal interest in return”. 

Some measurable results of the 100 % Organic Market are as follows:

• 48 stalls at the beginning and over 150 in January 2008
• over 300 producers selling their produce all the year round
• at the beginning, 3 tons of fresh fruit and vegetables sold every Saturday and over 10 tons in January 2008
• over 500 kinds of fresh and processed organic products weekly (bread, dairy products, cereals, honey, jam, oils, spices, etc.)
• price control: all prices of fresh products are between  +/-20% compared with their conventional equivalents
• over 1500 families buying organic food every week
• a second market with the same management and standards opened in Antalya in March 2008  (Mediterranean region), and a  third is preparing to open in July 2008 in Samsun (Black Sea region)

In addition to all these results, the 100 % Organic Marketplace has made other positive impacts on organic agriculture and the growth of the domestic market, such as:

• generating hope and motivation among producers and consumers as they meet each other face to face and serve each other’s needs
• generating regular market incomes and new opportunities for organic farmers and producers of all sizes              
• giving people the opportunity to buy organic products when they do their main food shopping - healthy, tasty food at a fair price
• maintaining the high quality of the environment, soils, water and biodiversity, and giving individuals the opportunity to participate in saving the planet through the way they run their daily lives
• strengthening our communities socially and bringing back our traditional culture of co-operation instead of the unsustainable culture of competition!

The Bugday Association is already in the process of completing its book about the standards applying to the 100 % Marketplaces, and is producing a guidance pack for the new markets. It is hoped that the third market in Samsun in the Black Sea region that is opening in May 2008, will be followed by others all over Turkey. As well as promoting the 100 % Marketplaces in Turkey, the Bugday team is willing to share its experience, cooperate with and support network partners who share their vision anywhere in the world.