Tractors are the most important power source in the execution of the activities of agricultural enterprises. Tractors, which were developed by Joe Froelich in 1892, soon became the most important power source in agriculture with the development of technology.
For this reason, criteria such as tractor presence, use and power are of great importance in determining the agricultural mechanization level of countries.
Anatolian lands are the homeland of dozens of agricultural products, and as a result of the effect of the industrial revolution that started in the world at the beginning of the 19th century on agricultural machinery, agricultural machinery that came by imported means began to be used in the last periods of the Ottoman Empire. The first agricultural machinery was imported for pulling animals. Subsequently, the first tractor, which is the most important power source in agriculture, was purchased by Adana Municipality from England in 1907 and 280 (33600 kuruş) sterling was paid for this tractor.
According to the Agricultural Machinery census made in 1914, we can see the number of Agricultural Machines and Tractors by region in the table.
| Machine / Province - Region | Adana | Edirne | Intellectual | Izmit | Konya |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steam Plow (single) | 33 | one | one | ||
| Steam Plow (single) | 20 | 2nd | one | one | one |
| Tractor | 3 | ||||
| Adana | Thrace | Aydin, Izmir | Balikesir, Bandirma, Bursa | Konya and Central Anatolia | |
| reaps (Reaper) | 3200 | 1500 | 2000 | 500 | 3800 |
| Threshing Machine | 157 | 143 | 58 | 7 | 2nd |
With the establishment of Atatürk Forest Farm in the Republican period, the use of machinery in agriculture and subsequently the use of tractors in agriculture increased in parallel with the level of mechanization.
As a result of the developments in Agricultural Mechanization at the beginning of the 2000s, differences in the number and structure of Tractor Sales began to be observed.
| Years | Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Data (Double Axles) | TURKSTAT Data | years2 | Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Data (Double Axles) 2 | TurkStat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 318571 | 2000 | 932510 | 1159070 | |
| 1980 | 352427 | 2001 | 937641 | 1179068 | |
| 1981 | 382054 | 2002 | 951400 | 1180127 | |
| 1982 | 399556 | 2003 | 983626 | 1184256 | |
| 1983 | 430563 | 2004 | 994061 | 1210283 | |
| 1984 | 463340 | 2005 | 1006196 | 1247767 | |
| 1985 | 502590 | 2006 | 1022546 | 1290679 | |
| 1986 | 610695 | 565945 | 2007 | 1039120 | 1327334 |
| 1987 | 635526 | 628787 | 2008 | 1052975 | 1358577 |
| 1988 | 652702 | 683577 | 2009 | 1052713 | 1368032 |
| 1989 | 670350 | 728481 | 2010 | 1071272 | 1404872 |
| 1990 | 689650 | 769456 | 2011 | 1089506 | 1466208 |
| 1991 | 701071 | 794651 | 2012 | 1132615 | 1515421 |
| 1992 | 722550 | 828580 | 2013 | 1160195 | 1565817 |
| 1993 | 742522 | 870559 | 2014 | 1177425 | 1626938 |
| 1994 | 753526 | 895506 | 2015 | 1190898 | 1695152 |
| 1995 | 772396 | 937528 | 2016 | 1200664 | 1765764 |
| 1996 | 801608 | 988142 | 2017 | 1231086 | 1838722 |
| 1997 | 868124 | 1053381 | 2018 | 1254303 | 1885952 |
| 1998 | 895238 | 1107457 | 2019 | 1896853 | |
| 1999 | 916365 | 1131626 |
These differences have started to be observed in the fields of use in recent years, as well as in the structural changes of the tractor (such as Double Wheel Drive, Cabin, etc.).
Related Products
There is different information among institutions regarding the number of tractors in the park. The two main reasons for this are that TurkStat evaluates all tractors (whether used in agriculture or not) whose traffic registration continues, while the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry reports the tractors used in agriculture (in the field) by counting.
| Years | Strength | Years | Strength | Years | Strength | Years | Strength |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | 35.7 | 1978 | 45.3 | 1992 | 47.3 | 2006 | 50.2 |
| 1965 | 35.4 | 1979 | 45.4 | 1993 | 47.5 | 2007 | 50.3 |
| 1966 | 35.9 | 1980 | 45.3 | 1994 | 47.7 | 2008 | 50.5 |
| 1967 | 37 | 1981 | 45.4 | 1995 | 47.7 | 2009 | 50.6 |
| 1968 | 37.6 | 1982 | 45.9 | 1996 | 47.8 | 2010 | 50.8 |
| 1969 | 38.7 | 1983 | 45.9 | 1997 | 48.2 | 2011 | 50.5 |
| 1970 | 38.8 | 1984 | 46 | 1998 | 48.3 | 2012 | 50.7 |
| 1971 | 39.6 | 1985 | 46 | 1999 | 48.6 | 2013 | 50.9 |
| 1972 | 40.2 | 1986 | 46.6 | 2000 | 48.5 | 2014 | 50.8 |
| 1973 | 41.4 | 1987 | 46.7 | 2001 | 48.6 | 2015 | 51 |
| 1974 | 42.3 | 1988 | 47.1 | 2002 | 49 | 2016 | 51.2 |
| 1975 | 44.2 | 1989 | 47 | 2003 | 49.4 | 2017 | 51.5 |
| 1976 | 44.8 | 1990 | 47.2 | 2004 | 49.7 | 2018 | 51.8 |
| 1977 | 44.8 | 1991 | 47.2 | 2005 | 50 |
When the fruit growing areas of our country are examined, it is observed that there have been qualitative and quantitative developments in recent years. The total fruit growing area, which was 2.61 million hectares in 2000, increased to 3.46 million hectares in 2018. With these values, the share of fruit growing areas in total agricultural areas, which was approximately 10% in 2000, approached the level of 15% in 2018.
When tractor sales statistics between 2015 and 2019 are examined, when traffic registration data and field studies are evaluated, the ratio of vineyard/garden tractors in general tractor sales has increased to 17% in parallel with the increase in vineyard or garden areas.
When tractor sales are examined in Mediterranean Region Countries (Italy, France, Spain, etc.) where advanced fruit production is made, 50% of the tractors sold consist of vineyard tractors with a compact structure incorporating special functions.
Within the framework of increasing requirements, there will continue to be an increase from traditional tractors to vineyard/garden tractors in our country's forward-looking agricultural production planning and its orientation to high-yielding products and subsequently in the renewal process of the tractor park.
Sources
Türkiye Teknoloji Tarihi/Dr. Mete Çankaya
Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu; TARMAKBİR
http://meymek2019.akdeniz.edu.tr/?page_id=30