The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), in collaboration with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), has launched a report titled Digital Technologies for Agriculture in Türkiye, highlighting the potential of AgTech solutions to boost productivity and sustainability in the country’s agricultural sector. The publication explores promising digital technologies, such as smart irrigation, traceability, and e-commerce, and assesses their adoption potential, barriers to entry, and the supporting ecosystem.
The report provides a roadmap for scaling technology adoption, offering insights into how these innovations can transform Türkiye’s agrifood systems by improving resilience and sustainability. It underscores the importance of digital technologies in reshaping agriculture and guiding investments and policy actions to support farmers and investors along the agrifood value chains.
Türkiye’s agricultural sector is a vital contributor to the economy, accounting for 5.5% of the GDP and employing 17% of the workforce. However, it faces significant challenges, including economic fluctuations, resource limitations, and an aging farming population. These issues are compounded by the effects of climate change, which further stress the need for innovation. Larger, high-value farms are increasingly adopting digital tools such as climate control systems and the Internet of Things (IoT) to manage resources more efficiently, tracking soil moisture and temperature. However, smaller farms, which dominate the sector, are hindered by the high costs and limited accessibility of these technologies.
The adoption of digital tools for crop monitoring, disease prediction, and resource efficiency remains out of reach for most small-scale farmers. This highlights the need for accessible, tailored technologies and delivery models that can address the unique constraints faced by these farmers. The report emphasizes the importance of investing in local AgTech startups to scale these technologies, noting that although Türkiye has a growing tech sector, AgTech ventures struggle to secure financing, as existing startup programs prioritize other industries.
To foster a digitally inclusive farming ecosystem, the report outlines key steps, including investments in technology development, field testing, and blended finance for AgTech startups. Collaboration with farmers is essential to develop and test new technologies, and tailored programs with long-term funding are needed to ensure that advanced tools reach a broader range of farms. The report also advocates for targeted support for smaller farms, women-led agribusinesses, and micro-, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to drive inclusive digitization.
Financial incentives, such as matching grants for eco-friendly technologies, are seen as crucial for encouraging technology adoption among farmers and value chain actors. Additionally, the report highlights the importance of awareness-raising and training programs to improve the effective use of digital tools, as well as the development of a shared data repository to support precision farming and sector-wide decision-making. This would require integrating public and private data with open standards and privacy safeguards.
Building trust in digital tools is another critical factor. This can be achieved through quality assurance protocols, grievance channels for underperforming technologies, and capacity-building initiatives for farmers. Knowledge-sharing platforms and training programs would further enhance the effectiveness of digital tools and improve their adoption across the sector.
By fostering accessible and impactful AgTech adoption, Türkiye can build a thriving digital agriculture sector that benefits both large and small-scale farmers. This would strengthen food security, enhance sustainability, and improve resilience, positioning Türkiye as a leader in sustainable agriculture.
