Evaluation of Agricultural Mechanization as an Indicator of Agricultural Development: A Comparative Study for Türkiye and Egypt

Abstract

Nowadays, one of the main goals of agriculture is to meet the needs of human communities in all countries through more efficient and high-quality production in agricultural areas. The incorporation of technological advancements, particularly agricultural mechanization, has become imperative for enhancing agricultural production. In recent years, the growing need and inclination to minimize reliance on human labor have heightened the significance of agricultural mechanization, its continual development, and its integration into agricultural operations. The progress of agriculture is intricately tied to the adoption of production technologies within the agricultural sector. The heightened integration of new and contemporary technologies in agriculture can elevate agricultural productivity and income while concurrently lowering production costs. The degree of a country's agricultural development is inherently linked to the utilization of production technologies within its agricultural practices. This research aims to study the existing state of agricultural mechanization in Türkiye and Egypt by identifying and measuring important indicators of the mechanization level of farming, focusing on conducting a comparative analysis between the two countries. Türkiye has a total cultivated area of approximately 23 million hectares, whereas Egypt's cultivated area is around 3 million hectares. Tractors equipped with mechanical power supplies, constituting a fundamental energy source in agriculture, in this study are estimated to be approximately 1.354.912 and 135.100 in Türkiye and Egypt, respectively. The results showed that the levels of mechanization in Türkiye and Egypt were represented by engine power per hectare (1.28 kW/hectare and 0.93 kW/hectare), the number of tractors per 1000 hectares (58.91 tractor /1.000 hectare, and 45 tractor /1.000 hectare) and the cultivated area per tractor (16.97 ha/tractor and 22.21 ha/tractor), respectively. Additionally, the average tractor power in Egypt and Türkiye reached 33-41 kW and 44-52 kW, respectively.