According to the research led by 1000 FEP, farmers can no longer imagine an agriculture without technology in Turkey

The 1000 Farmers Endless Prosperity program continues to support Turkish farmers in sustainable agricultural practices via increasing their welfare, productivity and social & digital transformation in agriculture.

Program made a wide stride and carried out a two part research with KONDA, Turkey’s leading research firm, to understand how farmers’ behaviors have changed over the years, to discover their basic tendencies, and to shed light into the future by revealing their needs and expectations.

The first phase of the research, which leveraged Konda’s multi-year database of monthly “Barometer” surveys, compared today’s farmer attitudes to those of a decade ago, indicated that the rate of those who define themselves as modern farmers has been on the rise.

The second phase of the research highlighted that Turkish farmers have tendencies to be more digitalized and modernized with embracing technological advances that support efficient, sustainable crop production. During the interviews for the study, farmers emphasized that 1000 Farmers, Endless Prosperity Program introduced them with the digitalization for the first time in their lives and they started to integrate technology into every step of their daily operations.

The survey also demonstrated the differences between the farmers’ ways of integrating innovation in their lives. Accordingly, farmers who follow innovations from their surroundings implement them only after seeing their results. Cautious farmers decide to implement a practice they see from afar only if they are convinced. Innovative farmers, on the other hand, both follow the information from broader sources and are bolder when it comes to implementation.

Direct communication and face-to-face consultancy play an important role in the farmers’ implementation of innovations. Farmers express their pleasure with keeping in constant touch with the agricultural engineers in the 1000 Farmers 1000 Prosperity Program and to receive their assistance. Farmers also said they could manage their fields with a business perspective thanks to their financial literacy training.

Farmers who consider their land their family heirloom want their children to receive training in agriculture-related departments and continue their family businesses.

One of the top agenda items of the farmers is the climate crisis. Farmers deeply feel the effects of it even if they don’t call it the “climate crisis.” Trying to adapt to conditions such as drought and unexpected weather conditions, farmers noted they could save resources thanks to the correct irrigation, fertilization and agricultural spraying program tailor-made for their respective fields under the program.

The outcomes of the research was shared by Bekir Ağırdır, Konda General Manager, under the moderation of economy journalist, Meliha Okur via online meeting with the press members.

“It is important that we address the lives of the farmers and understand what they want, what they feel and what they expect as we work to boost their welfare. We initiated this research to gain deeper insight into Turkish farmers attitudes to help guide our efforts supporting sustainable agriculture practices and increasing their welfare.” said Arzu Orsel, Cargill Foods Middle East, Turkey and Africa Corporate Affairs Director, “The results align with what we see happening in rural communities around the world, as more farmers gain access to, and realize the benefits of, a more digitally connected world. Farmers need to establish face-to-face communication. We have successfully implemented and increasingly expanded the scope of the 1000 Farmers 1000 Prosperity, which is the first and only social responsibility program in Turkey that provides the farmers with regular and continuous consultancy service. In this sense, we are very pleased to be able to establish a bond with them and to meet the needs of our farmers. In the meantime, it also gave us hope to see our farmers who keep their hope despite all the challenges of their work.”

Notably, the research show that Turkish farmers not only use digital agricultural applications, they also have tendency to use digital communication tools very effectively because they’re more eager to get information. In 2020, more than 60% of farmers used social media, a 58% increase from 2016. Key social platforms tracked in the survey – Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, YouTube and Instagram – all posted double-digit growth among farmers. The ongoing communication among farmers in 1000 Farmers, Endless Prosperity has always been boosted by the social media channels.
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This uptick in digital connectivity among Turkish farmers dovetails with Cargill’s 1,000 Farmers, Endless Prosperity Program, which launched in 2019. Currently, the program includes more than 3,000 corn, sunflower and canola farmers, spread across 12 Turkish provinces. Designed to support Turkish farmers in sustainable agricultural practices, the program offers access to and training in the latest technologies, including irrigation, fertilization and satellite-based field health monitoring – all at no cost to participants.
“After seeing the benefits of digital soil analysis, satellite crop monitoring and online training, these farmers can’t envision an agriculture without technology,” said Orsel. “1000 Farmers 1000 Prosperity achieves success thanks to the selfless farmers who are open to self-improvement and want to hand down a fertile and productive land to their children. Our goal is to make sure that our program guides all persons and institutions who embrace the future of food and serve as a source of inspiration for more farmers in a greater number of regions with their support.