In Turkey, 51,297 tons of pesticides were used in 2019 to prevent yield and quality losses in crop production. Looking at the amount of pesticide use by group, fungicides represented the largest group both in our country and in the world. In 2019, fungicides accounted for 38.40% of total pesticide use, herbicides accounted for 24.65%, insecticides accounted for 22.63%, acaricides accounted for 4.14%. 0.51% rodenticides and 9.67% others (plant activator, plant growth regulator, insect attractant, fumigant, nematicide, sulfur, mineral oils).

Regionally, in our country, pesticides were most frequently used in the Mediterranean region (28.16%) in 2019. This is followed by the Aegean (25%), Marmara (17.37%) and Central Anatolia (12.94%) regions, respectively. The Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia regions account for only 12.26% of Turkish consumption. The Black Sea region is in last place with 4.27 %.

The first 5 provinces where the most pesticides are applied in 2019 are Antalya (4,326 tonnes) with 8.4%, Manisa (4,132 tonnes) with 8.1%, Adana with 6.7% (3,445 tonnes),

Mersin with 6.2% (3,199 tonnes) and Aydın (3,007 tonnes) with 5.9%.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry continues to make efforts to prevent the use of defective pesticides. These efforts include: disseminating globally recognised Integrated Pest Management measures in the fight against harmful organisms found in herbal products; conducting pre-harvest pesticide control studies; incorporating and disseminating biological and biotechnical control methods among alternative control methods; focusing on non-formal and applied education; and publishing studies such as the Field School for Farmers¹¹².

GRAPH 146- TOTAL AMOUNT OF PESTICIDE USE BY YEAR

Source: Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, 2021

(*) The amount of use seems to be high due to the change in calculation method after 2016.