Good Agricultural Practices: certification steps, how GLOBALG.A.P. differs, and the Greek counterpart

Good Agricultural Practices (İTU in Turkish) is a control and certification system that aims at production that does not harm the environment or human and animal health, protects natural resources, ensures traceability and provides a reliable supply of safe produce. In Türkiye the framework is set by the Regulation on Good Agricultural Practices, published in Official Gazette No. 27778 of 7 December 2010 and in force since 1 January 2011 (İTU Regulation, 2010). In 2025, 7,826 producers in 68 provinces obtained about 6.4 million tonnes of İTU-certified crops from 375,324 hectares. Adana ranks first by volume with 1,772 producers, about 56,800 hectares and 2.31 million tonnes, roughly 36% of the national total (Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, 2026).

Steps to certification

1. Risk assessment: before deciding to produce, assess the site's previous use, soil type, erosion, groundwater level and quality, sustainable water supply and effects on neighbouring land. Sites with risks that cannot be controlled are not used for İTU (Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, undated).
2. Contract with a control and certification body (KSK): the producer chooses freely among bodies authorised by the Ministry; the list of authorised bodies is published on the Ministry's İTU page. For the same crop in the same period the producer may contract only one KSK and only one option, individual or group.
3. Control plan and on-site inspection: after signing, the KSK draws up a control plan and inspects at times when it can see all stages of production, including harvest. Under individual certification every field of the certified crop is inspected at least once a year.
4. Testing: the KSK or the Ministry may have samples taken for analysis when needed. Analyses are done in laboratories authorised by the Ministry. Sampling and report dates must match harvest dates, and the producer must keep the reports.
5. Decision and certificate: the KSK decides within 14 days of the inspection or of completion of corrective action. Certification requires compliance with 100% of first-level and at least 95% of second-level control points. A certificate is valid for up to 12 months, and revising it does not extend its validity.
6. Labelling and sale: no uncertified product may be sold under the İTU name. The label shows who the product belongs to, that it was produced under the Regulation, the KSK's name and code, the certificate number and the İTU logo (İTU Regulation, 2010).
7. Support payment: under the 2025-2027 support communiqué, İTU support requires the certificate to be recorded in ÇKS, or in the relevant greenhouse registry (ÖKS, KOBÜKS), and a written application to the provincial or district directorate. Where one plot carries more than one crop in a year, payment is made only for the crop with the higher calculated amount (Official Gazette, 2024).

Record keeping: what inspectors ask for

According to the Ministry's grower guide, every operation must be recorded and kept for inspection. Records should include at least (Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, undated):

• crop variety and production site,
• timing of and reason for each fertiliser application,
• trade name, quantity and technical approval of each chemical, the equipment used, the operator's name and the interval before harvest,
• irrigation timing, method and volume.

The guide also asks for a soil analysis at least once a year; testing of the irrigation water source at least once a year for microbial, chemical and mineral contaminants, based on risk assessment; and chemical control only as the last resort. The frequency of pesticide residue testing is set by risk assessment, and there must be an emergency action plan in case a maximum residue limit is exceeded. EU residue limits are covered separately in the platform's citrus export guide.

Two examples: citrus and vegetables

A Kozan orange grower with individual certification: the Regulation requires all of a producer's crops of the same type to be brought under certification, so one of two orange orchards on the same farm cannot be left out (exceptions are set by ministry circular). For crops with a long harvest season, control points are verified on the basis of risk analysis. Because sampling and analysis dates must match harvest dates, a long harvest calls for sampling planned around the harvest calendar (İTU Regulation, 2010).

Vegetable growers under a cooperative: growers in a producer organisation can choose group certification. The organisation then sets up and runs a quality management system; the right to use the certificate belongs to the organisation, although growers can still claim İTU support individually. At least once a year the KSK inspects the quality management system and a sample of growers. The sample size is the square root of the number of growers in each sub-scope, rounded up: a group with 40 growers in one sub-scope gives 6.3, so 7 growers are inspected. During the first certificate period the KSK also makes unannounced visits to half as many growers again as it inspected; in addition, at least 10% of contracted parties receive an unannounced inspection every year, with no more than 48 hours' notice. For crops with a production cycle shorter than four months, control points are verified through record checks every four months after certification (İTU Regulation, 2010).

How İTU, GLOBALG.A.P. and AGRO 2 differ

GLOBALG.A.P.'s Integrated Farm Assurance standard for fruit and vegetables (IFA v6) covers topics such as traceability, food safety, worker welfare, biodiversity, fertilisers, water management and plant protection; a successful audit leads to a certificate valid for one year. As of 31 December 2024 it reports 184,037 producers in 133 countries and 4.2 million hectares, with over 600 fruit and vegetable species eligible. Every certified producer receives a 13-digit GLOBALG.A.P. Number (GGN) that buyers can use to verify certification status. Customer requirements usually determine which edition a producer implements. GLOBALG.A.P. trademarks must never appear to consumers on packaging; IFA certification is one of the requirements for using the consumer-facing GGN label (GLOBALG.A.P., 2026).

Why export buyers ask for it

A sector report by Türkiye's Ministry of Economy notes that Turkish fresh produce exporters supply products that meet both legal and market requirements, and that tools such as ISO 9001, ISO 22000, HACCP, GAP and GLOBALG.A.P. have been adopted as indicators of quality, food safety and environmental awareness (Ministry of Economy, 2018). In practice the split is this: an İTU certificate is needed to use the İTU logo on the domestic market and to claim İTU support; GLOBALG.A.P. is needed for export when the buyer's specification calls for it. Both systems require traceability, fertiliser, irrigation and plant protection records, so keeping one set of records reduces the workload.

The Greek counterpart: the AGRO 2 integrated management standard

In Greece the closest national framework to İTU is the AGRO standards. "AGRO 2: Management of Rural Environment, System of Integrated Management in Agricultural Production" was officially launched at the end of 1999 by AGROCERT, a standardisation and certification body under the Ministry of Agriculture. Part 1 contains the system specification and Part 2 the requirements for crop production. Large fruit growers' cooperatives in northern Greece adopted it because it let them cut costs and improve quality (FarmPath, undated). Today the AGRO standards are prepared, issued or recognised by the Hellenic Agricultural Organisation ELGO-DIMITRA. Private bodies certifying against them are recognised by decision of the Minister of Rural Development and Food, with the procedure run by ELGO-DIMITRA's Directorate of Quality Systems and Organic Agriculture (EUGO, 2026).

Sources

1. İTU Yönetmeliği, 2010. İyi Tarım Uygulamaları Hakkında Yönetmelik (Resmî Gazete 7.12.2010, sayı 27778; 2011, 2014 ve 2019 değişiklikleri işlenmiş metin), mevzuat.gov.tr (accessed 29 September 2026)
2. T.C. Tarım ve Orman Bakanlığı, tarihsiz. İyi Tarım Uygulamaları: mevzuat, İyi Tarım Uygulamaları nasıl yapılır, logo kullanımı (accessed 29 September 2026)
3. T.C. Tarım ve Orman Bakanlığı, 2026. İyi Tarım Uygulamaları istatistikleri: İTU İstatistikleri İl-Üretici-Alan 2025 ve İTU değişim oranları 2007-2025 (accessed 29 September 2026)
4. Resmî Gazete, 2024. 2025-2027 Yıllarında Yapılacak Bitkisel Üretime Yönelik Desteklemeler ile Diğer Bazı Tarımsal Desteklemelere Ödeme Yapılmasına Dair Tebliğ (Tebliğ No: 2024/39), 31.12.2024, sayı 32769 (5. mükerrer) (accessed 29 September 2026)
5. GLOBALG.A.P., 2026. Integrated Farm Assurance for fruit and vegetables (IFA v6) (accessed 29 September 2026)
6. T.C. Ekonomi Bakanlığı, 2018. Fresh Fruits and Vegetables (sektör raporu) (accessed 29 September 2026)
7. EUGO, Yunanistan Tek Temas Noktası, 2026. Recognition of Private Certification Bodies of Agricultural Products or Systems (ELGO-DIMITRA, AGRO standartları; hizmet no 638132) (accessed 29 September 2026)
8. FarmPath (AB 7. Çerçeve Programı araştırma projesi, James Hutton Institute), tarihsiz. Integrated farming in Northern Greece (accessed 29 September 2026)