The Impact of Good Agricultural Practices on Optimum Organization in Conventional Farming Enterprises: A Case Study from Bafra District of Samsun Province, Turkey

The aim of this research is to reveal the change in optimum management organization in case of conversion of farms from conventional farming to good agricultural practices in the Bafra district of Samsun province. The data in this research was obtained from 60 farms performing conventional farming and 17 farms realizing good agricultural practices by the method of questionnaire. Optimum farm organization was determined by linear programming in conventional farming and by goal programming in good agricultural practices in which the chemical fertilizers and pesticide use are restricted. According to the results, the gross profit of farms performing conventional agriculture increased from 820.76 TL to 1075.81 TL per decare with a rate of 31.07% after the planning. In case of conversion of farms from conventional agriculture to good agricultural practices, the gross profit obtained by goal programming was 983.25 TL per decare. Gross profit was 19.79% higher than the current organization in conventional agriculture, however, it was 8.60% lower than the optimum farm organization. Therefore, the compensation of decline in gross profit by the good agricultural support is a great importance in the adaptation of good agricultural practices. Due to the extension of good agricultural practices, more healthy products will be offered to domestic and foreign markets with the usage of appropriate amount of inputs at the right time, and also the sustainable land management will be provided