Geleneksel Tarımdan Akıllı Tarım Uygulamalarına Dönüşüm Süreci: Türkiye Örneği

The agricultural sector has been one of humanity's fundamental sources of livelihood throughout history and has undergone significant transformations in parallel with technological advancements. While traditional farming methods were shaped by human and animal power, the Industrial Revolution and digitalization processes have made production processes more efficient. Today, agriculture has become more sustainable and highly productive thanks to smart technologies and digital systems. This study aims to analyze the current state of technology-supported agricultural practices in Turkey, the challenges faced, and the strategic steps that need to be taken in the future. This qualitative study is designed as an action research study based on thematic review and relational analysis. Data obtained from the literature has been integrated in a flow from general to specific and from theory to examples. According to the findings, the agricultural sector faces global challenges such as increasing food demand, climate change, and the sustainable use of natural resources. The transformation from traditional farming methods to smart agricultural technologies and its impact on agricultural productivity, sustainability, and economic growth have been examined. While classical agriculture requires intensive labor and long production processes, digital agriculture provides higher productivity with less labor. Digital agricultural applications optimize agricultural production by offering advantages such as early detection of plant diseases, precise predictions and analyses, low input usage, and high efficiency. Successful smart agriculture practices in countries like the USA, the UK, the Netherlands, Japan, and Taiwan have been examined, and the current state of smart agriculture in Turkey has been evaluated. While the technological inclination of the young population is seen as a significant opportunity for the widespread adoption of these technologies in Turkey, low awareness levels and high investment costs have been identified as obstacles.