About Us
Reducing pesticide use for environmental sustainability and raising farmers' awareness on alternative control methods.
The aim of our project is to prevent the uncontrolled and unconscious use of agricultural pesticides — a serious problem in today's agriculture — to inform farmers about alternative control methods, and to guide them on export regulations and pesticide analyses. In this way, we aim to raise farmers' awareness for both environmental sustainability and safe food production.
While producing intellectual outputs towards this goal, the project also aims to educate consumers on removing pesticide residues at home before consuming the food they buy at the market.
With the strong academic consortium established by the Food Engineering Department of Gaziantep University — together with the Central Research Institute of Food and Feed Control under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, and two expert universities from Romania and Lithuania — intellectual outputs will be produced and training will be delivered to the target groups.
The use of chemical pesticides to protect crops from weeds, insects, bacteria and viruses is the most common practice worldwide. Of the roughly 4 million tons of agricultural chemicals used on Earth, only about 1% reaches the targeted pest; the remainder causes persistent chemical pollution in the ecosystem.
On the other hand, controlled pesticide use provides the greatest benefit in achieving high yields. Pesticides are indispensable for increasing agricultural productivity; however, outside controlled use, chemical accumulation in the environment and receiving waters is highly harmful.
According to the Turkish Statistical Institute, 60,000 tons of agricultural pesticides were used in Türkiye in 2018 (TÜİK, 2019). Uncontrolled pesticide use, its effects on non-target organisms and its environmental dispersion threaten human health, soil quality and agricultural sustainability.
Project Consortium
Gaziantep University
Starting education in 1973 with departments affiliated to METU's Faculty of Engineering, the university gained legal status in 1987. Today it is an international university teaching in three languages, with 20 faculties, 5 institutes, 2 colleges and 11 vocational schools. The project is coordinated by its Food Engineering Department.
Central Research Institute of Food and Feed Control (Bursa)
Affiliated to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the institute has held TS EN ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation since 2004 and obtained OIC/SMIIC 35:2020 halal accreditation in 2023. It performs pesticide and food-safety analyses of import, export and inspection samples, and conducts research with TAGEM, TÜBİTAK and universities.
Kaunas University of Technology (KTU)
Lithuania's leading interdisciplinary university of technology, with more than 7,400 students and 99 study programmes (48 in English). A member of the European University Association (EUA) and the European Consortium of Innovative Universities (ECIU), it works with 400+ research and academic partners in 50 countries.
The University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest (USAMV Bucharest)
One of Romania's most prestigious higher-education institutions, with a 173-year tradition in education and research. It offers 31 bachelor's and 33 master's programmes and 7 doctoral fields, and is known for its 40-hectare 'Green CampUSAMV' campus and collaborations with 150+ universities worldwide.