ECONOMIC AND OPERATIONAL EFFECTS OF DIGITAL MECHANIZATION IN AGRICULTURE: AN ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT VIEWPOINT
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.71235/rmee.204Keywords:
digital mechanization, agricultural machinery, engineering management, operational efficiency, precision agricultureAbstract
In the framework of Agriculture 4.0, the digital transformation of agricultural machinery is essential for increased productivity, lower input costs, and data-driven management choices. This study assesses how operational effectiveness, resource consumption, and cost structures in contemporary farming are affected by smart mechanization involving IoT, AI, autonomous vehicles, and drones. By incorporating sensors, GPS, cloud computing, and decision support systems into conventional machinery, farmers can increase total productivity while lowering labor, fuel, fertilizer, and pesticide costs. The study additionally examines how the use of these technologies promotes economic sustainability and strategic investment options, ranging particularly in light of global issues like labor shortages, climate change, and the demand for sustainable agricultural systems. The results demonstrate how digital mechanization has the ability to boost agricultural output while also optimizing input allocation and offering financial advantages to both industrial and small-scale farmers.
References
Abioye, A. E., Laroche-Pinel, E., Sams, B., Corales, B., Vasquez, K., Cianciola, V., & Brillante, L. (2024). Grape composition assessment using NIR/SWIR hyperspectral imagery acquired from a UTV. Acta Horticulturae, 1395, 351–358. https://doi.org/10.17660/ACTAHORTIC.2024.1395.46
Afsah-Hejri, L., Homayouni, T., Toudeshki, A., Ehsani, R., Ferguson, L., & Castro-García, S. (2022). Mechanical Harvesting of Selected Temperate and Tropical Fruit and Nut Trees. Horticultural Reviews, 49, 171–242. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119851981.CH4
Ahirwar, S., Swarnkar, R., & Bhukya, S. (2019). Application of drone in agriculture. Interna-tional Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences, 8(1), 2500–2505. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2019.801.264
Altuntaş, E. (2016). Evaluation of the Level of Tur-key’s Agricultural Mechanization in Terms of Geographic Regions. Turkish Journal of Agri-culture-Food Science, 4(12), 1157–1164. http://agrifoodscience.com/index.php/TURJAF/article/view/972
Araújo, S. O., Peres, R. S., Barata, J., Lidon, F., & Ramalho, J. C. (2021). Characterising the Ag-riculture 4.0 Landscape—Emerging Trends, Challenges and Opportunities. Agronomy, 11(4), 667. https://doi.org/10.3390/AGRONOMY11040 667
Arzum Isitan, Cecilia Sevillano, Ramazan Çağrı Kutlubay, & Mine Sulak. (2024). Farmbot . In P. Vurchio & A. Isitan (Eds.), Digital Train-eeship In Agriculture (pp. 138–184).
Bac, C., Henten, E., Hemming, J., & Edan, Y. (2014). Harvesting robots for high-value crops: State‐of‐the‐art review and challenges ahead. Jour-nal of Field Robotics, 31(6), 888–911.
Balafoutis, A., Beck, B., Fountas, S., Vangeyte, J., Van Der Wal, T., Soto, I., Gómez-Barbero, M., Barnes, A., & Eory, V. (2017). Precision Agri-culture Technologies Positively Contributing to GHG Emissions Mitigation, Farm Produc-tivity and Economics. Sustainability 2017, Vol. 9, Page 1339, 9(8), 1339. https://doi.org/10.3390/ SU9081339
Bechar, A., & Vigneault, C. (2016). Agricultural robots for field operations: Concepts and components. Biosystems Engineering, 149, 94–111.
Berktaş, S., & Dimli Oraklıbel, R. (2021). Evolution with Industrial Revulotion: Division of La-bour and Alienation. Atlas Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 1(6), 112–121. https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/ pub/atlas
Birner, R., Daum, T., & Pray, C. (2021). Who drives the digital revolution in agriculture? A review of supply-side trends, players and challenges. Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, 43(4), 1260–1285. https://doi.org/10.1002/ AEPP.13145
Bochtis, D. D., Sørensen, C. G. C., & Busato, P. (2014). Advances in agricultural machinery management: A review. Biosystems Engineer-ing, 126, 69–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/ J.BIOSYSTEMSENG.2014.07.012
Butkovsky, V. A., & Ilina, O. A. (2023). Grain stor-age. ICC Handbook of 21st Century Cereal Science and Technology, 199–206. https://doi.org/10. 1016/B978-0-323-95295-8.00015-0
Carbonell, I. M. (2016). The ethics of big data in big agriculture. Internet Policy Review, 5(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.14763/2016.1.405
Ditzler, L., & Driessen, C. (2022). Automating Agroecology: How to Design a Farming Robot Without a Monocultural Mindset? Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics, 35(1). https://doi.org/10.1007/S10806-021-09876-X
dos Reis, Â. V., Medeiros, F. A., Ferreira, M. F., Machado, R. L. T., Romano, L. N., Marini, V. K., Francetto, T. R., & Machado, A. L. T. (2021). Technological trends in digital agri-culture and their impact on agricultural ma-chinery development practices. Revista Ciência Agronômica, 51(5), e20207740. https://doi.org/ 10.5935/1806-6690.20200093
Duarte, V., Paper, S. S.-C.-U. W., & 2009, undefined. (n.d.). A Cinderella story: the early evolution of the American tractor industry. Citeseer. Retrieved October 7, 2024, from https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=d8b07c592779ab69d304070d9768f7616517ffa9
European Commision. (2024, October). The Digitalisation of the European Agricultural Sec-tor | Shaping Europe’s digital future. https://Digital-Strate-gy.Ec.Europa.Eu/En/ Policies/Digitalisation-Agriculture. https://digital-strate-gy.ec.europa.eu/ en/policies/digitalisation-agriculture
Farmbot. (n.d.). FarmBot is 100% Open-Source. Retrieved October 3, 2024, from https://farm.bot/pages/open-source
Ferrández-Pastor, F. J., García-Chamizo, J. M., Nieto-Hidalgo, M., Mora-Pascual, J., & Mora-Martínez, J. (2016). Developing Ubiquitous Sensor Network Platform Using Internet of Things: Application in Precision Agriculture. Sensors 2016, Vol. 16, Page 1141, 16(7), 1141. https://doi.org/10.3390/S16071141
Fortune Business Insights. (2023). Agriculture Equipment Market Size, Share, Trends | Growth 2032. https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/agriculture-equipment-market-102665
Hafezalkotob, A., Hami-Dindar, A., Rabie, N., & Hafezalkotob, A. (2018). A decision support system for agricultural machines and equipment selection: A case study on olive har-vester machines. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 148, 207–216. https://doi.org/10. 1016/j.compag.2018.03.012
Hijazi, H., Al-Sayyad, N., Bassil, N., Choueiri, E., Akoum, H., Jones, P., Gilkey, D. P., Birkenbuel, L., Cooley-Chamblin, C., & Autenrieth, D. (2021). The ATV–UTV Stress and Strain Survey: A Pilot Study. https://worldsafety.org/wp-content/ uploads/New-Version-with-additions-WSJ-2021-FINAL-December.pdf#page=55
Hurt, R. D. (2024). Mechanization in Agriculture. In Jeannie Whayne (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Agricultural History (pp. 161–176). https://books.google.com/books?hl=tr&lr=&id=CwD0EAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA161&dq=From+Steam+to+GPS:+The+Evolution+of+the+Tractor&ots=Ui2aWIu8AU&sig=uZnzlGzbBYJlTfTLomykY4IrFOM
Isitan, A. (2024a). Conclusions. In P. Vurchio & A. Isitan (Eds.), Digital Traineeship In Agriculture (1st ed., pp. 222–238). Duvar Yayınevi.
Isitan, A. (2024b). NIR and Drones . In P. Vurchio & A. Isitan (Eds.), Digital Traineeship in Agri-culture (pp. 110–136).
Isitan, A., & Gok, C. (2024). Introduction. In P. Vurchio & A. Isitan (Eds.), Digital Traineeship In Agriculture (1st ed.). Duvar Yayınevi.
Keçecioğlu, G., & Gülsoylu, E. (2005). Tarim Traktörleri. Ege Üniversitesi Basim Evi. http://ercan.gulsoylu.name.tr/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Tarim-Traktorleri-II.-Basim.pdf
Klerkx, L., Jakku, E., & Labarthe, P. (2019). A re-view of social science on digital agriculture, smart farming and agriculture 4.0: New contributions and a future research agenda. NJAS - Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences, 90–91, 100315. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.NJAS.2019.100315
Kosior - Roczniki, K. (2018). Digital transformation in the agri-food sector–opportunities and challenges. Roczniki (Annals), 2(2), 98–104. https://doi.org/105604/01.3001.0011.8122
Lima, G., Figueiredo, F., Barbieri, A. E. , & Seki, J. (2021). Agro 4.0: Enabling agriculture digital transformation through IoT. Revista Ciência Agronômica, 51, e20207771. https://www.scielo.br/j/rca/a/DVtW6Gqn88LZ7KSrMG8TnJh/?format=html
Mail, M. F., Maja, J. M., Marshall, M., Cutulle, M., Miller, G., & Barnes, E. (2023). Agricultural Harvesting Robot Concept Design and System Components: A Review. AgriEngineering, 5(2), 777–800. https://doi.org/10.3390/AGRIENGINE ERING5020048
Maja, J. M., Polak, M., Burce, M. E., & Barnes, E. (2021). CHAP: Cotton-Harvesting Autonomous Platform. AgriEngineering, 3(2), 199–217. https://doi.org/10.3390/AGRIENGINEERING3020013
Mohamed, H. H. (2016). Using a GPS tracker in operating and managing farm machinery sta-tions. Misr Journal of Agricultural Engineer-ing, 33(2), 365–382. https://journals.ekb.eg/article_97840.html
Navas, E., Fernández, R., Sepúlveda, D., Armada, M., & Gonzalez-De-santos, P. (2021). Soft Grippers for Automatic Crop Harvesting: A Review. Sensors 2021, Vol. 21, Page 2689, 21(8), 2689. https://doi.org/10.3390/S21082689
Neves, H., Brazile, W., & Gilkey, D. (2018a). ATVs and Agriculture: A Review of the Literature. Safety Health & Industrial Hygiene. https://digitalcommons.mtech.edu/shih/41
Ozdogan, B., Gacar, A., & Aktas, H. (2017). Digital Agriculture Practices In The Context Of Agriculture 4.0. Journal of Economics Finance and Account-ing, 4(2), 186–193. https://doi.org/10.17261/PRESSACADEMIA.2017.448
Pakdemirli, B., Birişik, N., Aslan, İ., Sönmez, B., & Gezici, M. (2021). Use of Digital Technologies in Turkish Agriculture and Agriculture-Food Chain Agriculture 4.0. Toprak Su Dergisi, 10(1), 78–87. https://doi.org/10.21657/topraksu.898774
Pearson, S., Camacho-Villa, T. C., Valluru, R., Gaju, O., Rai, M. C., Gould, I., Brewer, S., & Sklar, E. (2022). Robotics and Autonomous Systems for Net Zero Agriculture. Current Robotics Reports, 3(2), 57–64. https://doi.org/10.1007/S43154-022-00077-6
Reid, J., Moorehead, S., Foessel, A., & Sanchez, J. (2016). Autonomous Driving in Agriculture Leading to Autonomous Worksite Solutions. SAE Technical Papers. https://doi.org/10.4271/2016-01-8006
Renius, K. (1985). Tractors. Technology and its application. BLV Verlagsgesellschaft. https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/full/10.5555/19892440927
Renius, K. T. (2020). Mission, History, Trends, Markets, and Costs. In Fundamentals of Trac-tor Design (pp. 1–24). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-32804-7_1
Rijk, A. G. (1999). Agricultural mechanization strategy. Plant Production Science, 536–553. https://repository.unescap.org/handle/20.500.12870/4681
Rimma, Z., Marina, T., Olga, R., Andrey, C., & Albina, S. (2020). Major Trends in the Digital Transformation of Agriculture. Advances in Economics, Business and Management Research, 131, 271–275.
Rose, D. C., Wheeler, R., Winter, M., Lobley, M., & Chivers, C. A. (2021). Agriculture 4.0: Mak-ing it work for people, production, and the planet. Land Use Policy, 100, 104933. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.LANDUSEPOL.2020.104933
Said Mohamed, E., Belal, A. A., Kotb Abd-Elmabod, S., El-Shirbeny, M. A., Gad, A., & Zahran, M. B. (2021). Smart farming for improving agri-cultural management. The Egyptian Journal of Remote Sensing and Space Science, 24(3), 971–981. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.EJRS.2021.08.007
Shamin, A., Frolova, O., Makarychev, V., Yashkova, N., Kornilova, L., & Akimov, A. (2019). Digi-tal transformation of agricultural industry. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environ-mental Science, 346(1), 012029. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/346/1/012029
Shamshiri, R. R., Kalantari, F., Ting, K. C., Thorp, K. R., Hameed, I. A., Weltzien, C., Ahmad, D., & Shad, Z. (2018). Advances in greenhouse au-tomation and controlled environment agricul-ture: A transition to plant factories and urban agriculture. International Journal of Agricul-tural and Biological Engineering, 11(1), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.25165/J.IJABE.20181101.3210
Sims, B., Kienzle, J., Bacenetti, J., Pedretti, E. F., & Pessina, D. (2017). Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization for Smallholders: What Is It and How Can We Implement It? Agriculture 2017, Vol. 7, Page 50, 7(6), 50. https://doi.org/10.3390/AGRICULTURE7060050
Sparrow, R., & Howard, M. (2021). Robots in agri-culture: prospects, impacts, ethics, and policy. Precision Agriculture, 22(3), 818–833. https://doi.org/10.1007/S11119-020-09757-9/METRICS
Tilson, D., Lyytinen, K., & Sørensen, C. (2010). Research Commentary—Digital Infrastruc-tures: The Missing IS Research Agenda. In-formation Systems Research, 21(4), 748–759. https://doi.org/10.1287/ISRE.1100.0318
Wang, G., Wu, W., Qiao, F., Fu, D., Liu, Z., & Han, F. (2020). Research on an electric energy-saving grain drying system with internal circulation of the drying medium. Journal of Food Process Engineering, 43(9), e13476. https://doi.org/10.1111/JFPE.13476
Xiao, F., Wang, H., Li, Y., Cao, Y., Lv, X., & Xu, G. (2023). Object Detection and Recognition Techniques Based on Digital Image Pro-cessing and Traditional Machine Learning for Fruit and Vegetable Harvesting Robots: An Overview and Review. Agronomy 2023, Vol. 13, Page 639, 13(3), 639. https://doi.org/10.3390/AGRONOMY13030639
Yahya, A., Zohadie, M., Kheiralla, A. F., Giew, S. K., & Boon, N. E. (2009). Mapping system for tractor-implement performance. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 69(1), 2–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.COMPAG.2009.06.010
Yılmaz, C. (2013, November 23). Seralar Için Çok Fonksiyonlu Akilli Kontrol Sistemleri. VI. Kontrol Otomasyon Ve Yapi Elektronik Sistemleri Sempozyumu. https://www.emo.org.tr/ekler/2552c6d6039b35c_ek.pdf
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Arzum IŞITAN, Ramazan Çağrı KUTLUBAY

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.


