Avanos Vocational School Of Fine Arts

Organic Agriculture Program

Organic agriculture is a holistic production management system that promotes and enhances agro-ecosystem health, including biodiversity, biological cycles, and soil biological activities. Organic production systems are based on specific and precise production standards aiming to achieve optimal agro-ecosystems that are socially, ecologically, and economically sustainable.

In organic agriculture, the primary objectives include protecting the environment and natural resources, restoring disrupted ecological balance, promoting sustainable agriculture, maintaining the vitality of the soil, preserving flora and fauna, ensuring the continuation of biodiversity, and eliminating chemical pollution and toxic residues.

In traditional production methods, the quality of the product often takes a backseat to excessive use of synthetic and chemical inputs, increasing mechanization for economic production, and especially uninformed practices, which destroy the soil’s living layer. The restoration of lost materials from the soil has become very expensive and sometimes impossible.

Through organic agriculture, the productivity of low-input agricultural systems is enhanced, market opportunities arise, the fusion of traditional knowledge and modern science opens up opportunities to discover new and innovative production technologies, and environmental and social concerns are highlighted, stimulating public debate on national and international sustainability.

The Organic Agriculture program aims to meet the technical personnel needs of the organic agriculture sector and train individuals who possess existing knowledge, technical expertise in the use of new technologies, and an understanding of scientific methods within organic agriculture. The program aims to cultivate individuals who can work scientifically in organic agriculture, provide healthy food to society, comprehend the importance of biosecurity and biodiversity, have knowledge in marketing, production, and processing, and can follow and guide market expansion trends. They will adapt to new approaches in organic agriculture worldwide and serve in public and private institutions in the field of organic agriculture.

Students will gain the knowledge and skills for the production and management of organic cropping systems. In this program, conducted in Turkish, students who successfully complete all available courses (equivalent to a total of 120 ECTS) with a weighted grade point average of at least 2.0 out of 4.00, along with a mandatory 30-day internship (Industry-Based Education, or EDE), will receive an associate degree in Organic Agriculture.

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR ORGANIC AGRICULTURE PROGRAM GRADUATES

Employment opportunities for our program graduates are extensive. Graduates can work as technicians at agricultural provincial and district directorates under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, as technicians in organic agricultural enterprises, as technicians in private sector organizations providing inputs for organic production (seeds, organic fertilizers, organic agricultural control), in organizations offering organic product certification, in small and medium-sized agricultural industries and SMEs. They can also own their own organic farm, work as consultants, engage in environmental education, and contribute to international agricultural development. Candidates who successfully complete the associate degree program can pursue a bachelor's degree in other programs by achieving a passing score on the Vertical Transfer Exam.

In our program, educational activities are carried out by 4 faculty members, and other lecturers and faculty members employed by the university who specialize in the field also teach courses to our Organic Agriculture program students. Our program includes 360 decares of department land, and classes are held in laboratories and projection-equipped classrooms.