Current State and the Projection of Pesticide Use in Turkey

The use of pesticides is most effective and the quickest ways to control pests in crop production. Especially in the years following World War II, there has been a significant increase in the use of pesticides in Turkey with the entered the period of intensive input use in agricultural production. In the later period, it was necessary to take precautions related to the use of pesticides in terms of environmental and human health threats. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) data, 39 thousand tons of pestisicides were used in 2015. In this study, it is revealed the current state of pesticide in Turkey and estimate the pesticide use for the next ten years (2016-2025), because of the importance of pesticide use in agricultural control. Thus, it is aimed to provide information and suggestions that will guide the decision makers about the sector and help to make planning. Pesticide use for ten years were estimated by using the ARIMA model and Double Exponential Smoothing Method of time series analysis to 26 years data from FAO (1990-2015). According to the results; in Turkey, the use of pesticides is estimated to be approximately 42 thousand tons in 2018. The use of pesticides tends to increase year by year and the annual average increase is expected to be 1.2%