The Regulation on Closed Environment Plant Production Registration System (“Regulation”), prepared by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (“Ministry”), was published in the Official Gazette, dated 16 March 2024 and numbered 32491. It entered into force on the date of publication.
This Regulation outlines the procedures and principles concerning the use, updating, and development of the Indoor Crop Production Registration System (“System”). The System aims to register indoor crop production areas with partially or fully controllable ambient conditions, determine the units responsible for monitoring and reporting related registration procedures, define the duties, and regulate producers engaged in agricultural activities within these areas.
It was stipulated that the monitoring and reporting of registration procedures related to the use, updating, and development of the Crop Production Registration System in Closed Environment will be carried out by the central and provincial organization of the Ministry, provincial/district arbitration commissions, provincial/district discovery commissions, and provincial/district determination commissions.
The information and documents required from producers to register in the system are listed. Additionally, it is regulated that the information and documents specified in the first paragraph will be requested from the producers already registered in the system if any of their personal information, information on the closed environment production, or structural information changes.
According to the Regulation, the applicant will be required to submit a Producer Registration Form for each indoor plant production enterprise in different villages or neighborhoods. The form must adhere to the sample provided in the Regulation. If low tunnels are situated in the same or adjacent parcels, they will be treated as a single unit, and only one Producer Registration Form, as per the sample set forth in the Regulation, will be requested for all of them.
The procedure for producers to apply to the system is regulated under the Regulation. According to the Regulation, producers with a plant production enterprise covering a total area of at least 100 square meters in a closed environment are eligible to apply for registration in the System. Producers can apply either in person or through their proxies, provided with a power of attorney issued by a notary public, to register or update their registration in the System. Individuals under guardianship may apply through their guardians, and for such cases, a certified copy of the court decision will be required.
Registration, update and control procedures are regulated in detail under the Regulation.
Producers who do not meet the conditions specified in Article 6 of the Regulation, as well as indoor plant production enterprises established on immovable properties within the scope of the Forest Law No. 6831 dated 31 August 1956, the Pasture Law No. 4342 dated 25 February 1998, the Law No. 4342 dated 25 February 1998, and the Law No. 3573 dated 26 January 1939 on the Breeding of Olive Groves and Grafting of Wild Olives, will not be registered in the System.
The responsibilities of the individuals involved in the System are also regulated under the Regulation. It details the duties and responsibilities of various roles, including the system responsible, system administrator, provincial system responsible, data entry officer, Geographic Information System administrator, provincial/district determination commissions, provincial/district discovery commissions, provincial/district arbitration commissions, as well as the duties of provincial/district directorates.
The Regulation also explains the scope of the right to benefit. Regarding this matter, the registration of the producer and indoor plant production enterprise information in the System will serve the purpose of determining the indoor plant production activity. It is important to note that these records will not be used to determine ownership or create property rights.
During the implementation of the Regulation, data from the electronic environment within the Ministry and the electronic data from the databases of other institutions and organizations may be utilized. Additionally, as a result of implementing the provisions of the Regulation, data from the System database may be integrated into other information systems to be established by the Ministry.
It is stipulated that sharing the password provided by the System Administrator is forbidden, and individuals who share it are held responsible for compensating any damages that may arise.
The software of the System will remain operational until 31 July 2025 at the latest. During the transition period, a Provisional Registration Certificate will be issued by the provincial/district directorate for the indoor plant production unit that cannot be registered in the Undercover Registration System due to software technique limitations but is found to be compliant with this Regulation. This document will remain valid until the end of the calendar year in which it is issued.
The full text of the Regulation can be accessed via this link. (Only available in Turkish)
