ORGANIC AGRICULTURAL MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT STUDENTS - PERSPECTIVE ON ORGANIC PRODUCT CONSUMPTION HABITS

Tugay Ayaşan, Roxana Raţu, Hakan İnci, Hilal Yılmaz

Abstract
    In this study, it was aimed to determine the consumption habits of the students in the Organic Agriculture Management Department of Osmaniye Korkut Ata University Kadirli School of Applied Sciences. For this reason, a 24-question survey was conducted with a total of 36 students in September 2019. Data obtained from the surveys were evaluated using frequency distributions and proportional distributions. In the study, 91.7% of the students interviewed stated that they had knowledge about organic products, and 8.3% did not. Factors affecting the consumption preference of organic products were price, nutritional value, being safe, not harmful to health, and natural. In the study, factors affecting the price of organic products are the low cost of production (41.7%), low amount of production (33.3%), and difficulty of production (25.0%). The majority of the Organic Agriculture students who participated in the survey (38.9%) consume organic fresh fruits and vegetables, 36.1% of those who consume organic tomato paste and olive oil, 13.9% of those who consume organic spices, dry foods, and organic drinks, and a small amount have been observed to consume organic soaps and beauty products (11.1%). In the study, it was determined that the logo (58.3%), label (22.2%), packaging (19.5%) were looked at when buying organic products. Also, the expiration date of products, information on the packaging, promotion, and discounts and advertisements played an active role when consuming organic products. In the study, organic fresh vegetables and fruits (38.9%), organic tomato paste, and olive oil (36.1%) were among the leading groups in consuming organic products.