Evaluation of Smart Agricultural Technologies Used in Smart Villages: SWARA Approach

Year 2025, Volume: 31 Issue: 3, 732 - 746, 29.07.2025

Rukiye Gizem Öztaş Karlı

https://doi.org/10.15832/ankutbd.1571732

Abstract

The rapid development of technology has paved the way for innovative solutions in agriculture, particularly in smart villages. This study evaluates the effectiveness and sustainability of agricultural technologies used in smart villages by employing the SWARA (Stepwise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis) method. Six main criteria and eighteen subcriteria were assessed based on expert evaluations.
The findings reveal that technological relevance (0.267) is the most significant criterion, followed by efficiency and performance (0.205), economic factors (0.164), environmental sustainability (0.137), social and user satisfaction (0.119), and political and governance factors (0.108). Among the sub-criteria, innovativeness, yield increase, and cost effectiveness were identified as critical factors influencing the adoption of smart agricultural technologies. The study offers actionable recommendations, including prioritizing user-friendly and cost-effective technologies, enhancing financial incentives, and aligning policies with global sustainability goals such as SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) and SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production). Furthermore, it emphasizes the importance of stakeholder collaboration, locally specific strategies, and continuous adaptation of technologies to regional needs, ensuring the sustainable development of smart villages.

Keywords

Agricultural technologies , smart agriculture , smart village , SWARA

References

• Abualkishik A Z, Almajed R & Thompson W (2022). Evaluating smart agricultural production efficiency using fuzzy MARCOS method. J. Neutrosophic Fuzzy Syst, 3:8-18. https://doi.org/10.54216/JNFS.030101
• Acemoglu D (2002). Technical change, inequality, and the labor market. Journal of Economic Literature 40(1): 7-72. https://doi.org/10.1257/0022051026976
• Acosta M, Riley S, Bonilla-Findji O, Martínez-Barón D, Howland F, Huyer S & Chanana N (2021). Exploring women’s differentiated access to climate-smart agricultural interventions in selected climate-smart villages of Latin America. Sustainability 13(19): 10951. https://doi.org/10.3390/su131910951
• Adewale C, Reganold J P, Higgins S, Evans R D & Carpenter-Boggs L (2019). Agricultural carbon footprint is farm specific: Case study of two organic farms. Journal of Cleaner Production 229: 795-805. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.04.253
• Adli H, Remli M A, Wan Salihin Wong K N S, Ismail N A, González-Briones A, Corchado J M & Mohamad M S (2023). Recent advancements and challenges of AIoT application in smart agriculture: A review. Sensors 23(7): 3752. https://doi.org/10.3390/s23073752
• Al-Ali A R, Al Nabulsi A, Mukhopadhyay S, Awal M S, Fernandes S & Ailabouni K (2019). IoT-solar energy powered smart farm irrigation system. Journal of Electronic Science and Technology 17(4): 100017. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnlest.2020.100017
• Al-Shareeda M A, Manickam S & Saare M A (2022). Intelligent drone-based IoT technology for smart agriculture system, 41-45. In 2022 International Conference on Data Science and Intelligent Computing (ICDSIC) (1-2 November 2022, Karbala), IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICDSIC56987.2022.10076170
• Amadu F O, McNamara P E & Miller D C (2020). Yield effects of climate-smart agriculture aid investment in southern Malawi. Food Policy 92: 101869. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2020.101869
• Anderson A, Loomba P, Orajaka I, Numfor J, Saha S, Janko S ... & Larsen R (2017). Empowering smart communities: electrification, education, and sustainable entrepreneurship in IEEE Smart Village Initiatives. IEEE Electrification Magazine 5(2): 6-16. https://doi.org/10.1109/MELE.2017.2685738
• Ashraf A R, Thongpapanl N & Auh S (2014). The application of the technology acceptance model under different cultural contexts: The case of online shopping adoption. Journal of International Marketing 22(3): 68-93. https://doi.org/10.1509/jim.14.0065
• Balafoutis A T, Evert F K V & Fountas S (2020). Smart farming technology trends: economic and environmental effects, labor impact, and adoption readiness. Agronomy 10(5): 743. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10050743
• Baran E & Ersoy Karaçuha M. (2021). Adaptation to global climate change: Smart agricultural practices and occupational health and safety, 13-20. National Occupational Health and Safety Student Congress Proceedings Book (3-4 April 2021, İstanbul) (In Turkish)
• Barnes A P, Soto I, Eory V, Beck B, Balafoutis A, Sánchez B & Gómez-Barbero M (2019). Exploring the adoption of precision agricultural technologies: A cross regional study of EU farmers. Land Use Policy 80: 163-174. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2018.10.004
• Büyük A M, Ateş G, Burghli S, Yılmaz D, Temur G T & Sivri Ç (2021). Digital maturity assessment model for smart agriculture, pp. 289301. In Digital Conversion on the Way to Industry 4.0: Selected Papers from ISPR2020 (September 24-26, 2020 Turkey). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-62784-3_24
• Büyüközkan G & Uztürk D (2024). Integrated design framework for smart agriculture: Bridging the gap between digitalization and sustainability. Journal of Cleaner Production 449: 141572. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.141572
• Carrer M J, de Souza Filho H M, Vinholis M D M B & Mozambani C I (2022). Precision agriculture adoption and technical efficiency: An analysis of sugarcane farms in Brazil. Technological Forecasting and Social Change 177: 121510. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2022.121510
• Castiblanco Jimenez I A, Cepeda García L C, Violante M G, Marcolin F & Vezzetti E (2021). Commonly used external TAM variables in elearning, agriculture and virtual reality applications. Future Internet 13(1): 7. https://doi.org/10.3390/fi13010007
• Cesco S, Sambo P, Borin M, Basso B, Orze G & Mazzetto F (2023). Smart agriculture and digital twins: Applications and challenges in a vision of sustainability. European Journal of Agronomy 146: 126809. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eja.2023.126809
• CGIAR (2022). Climate-smart village: The CCAFS model to improve the adaptive capacity of communities. (Web page: https://ccafs.cgiar.org/climate-smart-villages) (Data accessed: July 2024)
• Cornejo-Velazquez E, Clavel-Maqueda M, Acevedo-Sandoval O A & Romero-Trejo H (2022). Technological innovation strategy to strengthen the competitive advantages of smallholder farmers, 23-31. In: Innovation in Small-Farm Agriculture. 1st ed. (Eds. Rakshit, A., S. Chakraborty, M. Parihar, V.S. Meena, P.K. Mishra & H.B. Singh), CRC Press, 341 pp
• Cubero S, Marco-Noales E, Aleixos N, Barbé S & Blasco J (2020). Robhortic: A field robot to detect pests and diseases in horticultural crops by proximal sensing. Agriculture 10(7): 276. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture10070276
• Darnhofer I, Bellon S, Dedieu B & Milestad R (2010). Adaptiveness to enhance the sustainability of farming systems. A review. Agronomy for sustainable development 30: 545-555. https://doi.org/10.1051/agro/2009053
• Deichmann, U, Goyal A & Mishra D (2016). Will digital technologies transform agriculture in developing countries? Agricultural Economics, 47(S1): 21-33. https://doi.org/10.1111/agec.12300
• Del Río Castro G, González Fernández M C & Uruburu Colsa Á (2021). Unleashing the convergence amid digitalization and sustainability towards pursuing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): A holistic review. Journal of Cleaner Production 280: 122204. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.122204
• Elijah O, Rahman T A, Orikumhi I. Leow C Y & Hindia M N (2018). An overview of Internet of Things (IoT) and data analytics in agriculture: Benefits and challenges. IEEE Internet of things Journal 5(5): 3758-3773. https://doi.org/10.1109/JIOT.2018.2844296
• Engler N & Krarti M (2021). Review of energy efficiency in controlled environment agriculture. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 141: 110786. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2021.110786
• ENRD (2018). Smart villages: Revitalising rural services, EU Rural Review 26. (Web page: enrd.ec.europa.eu) (Data accessed: July 2024).
• Gabriel A & Gandorfer M (2023). Adoption of digital technologies in agriculture—an inventory in a european small-scale farming region. Precision Agriculture, 24(1): 68-91. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11119-022-09931-1
• Gerli P, Navio Marco J & Whalley J (2022). What makes a smart village smart? A review of the literature. Transforming Government: People, Process and Policy 16(3): 292-304. https://doi.org/10.1108/TG-07-2021-0126
• Gobarah M E, Tawfik M M, Thalooth A T & Housini E A E (2015). Water conservation practices in agriculture to cope with water scarcity. International Journal of Water Resources and Arid Environments 4(1): 20-29
• Gorlov I F, Fedotova G V, Glushchenko A V, Slozhenkina M I & Mosolova N I (2020). Digital technologies in the development of the agroindustrial complex, 220-229. In: Digital Economy: Complexity and Variety vs. Rationality 9 (Eds. Popkova E & B. Sergi), Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29586-8_26
• Htitiou A, Boudhar A, Lebrini Y & Benabdelouahab T (2020). Deep learning-based reconstruction of spatiotemporally fused satellite images for smart agriculture applications in a heterogeneous agricultural region. The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences 44: 249-254. https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLIV-4-W3-2020-249-2020
• Jiang H, Feng J & Zhang Y (2015). Practice and thinking about the construction of beautiful and intelligent village: Take Xibaidian Village of Beijing city as an example,pp. 268–277. In Proceedings of the Annual Conference of China Society of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning (23 July 2015, Xining, China).
• Jin P, Yu L, Ahmad K, Shafique H M & Ahmad A (2024). Evaluating the factors influencing the adoption of digital culture among university students in developing areas of South Punjab. Information Development, 02666669241270909. https://doi.org/10.1177/026666692412709
• Karunathilake E M B M, Le A T, Heo S, Chung Y S & Mansoor S (2023). The path to smart farming: Innovations and opportunities in precision agriculture. Agriculture 13(8): 1593. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13081593 Keršuliene V, Zavadskas E K & Turskis Z (2010). Selection of rational dispute resolution method by applying new step‐wise weight assessment ratio analysis (SWARA). Journal of business economics and management 11(2): 243-258. https://doi.org/10.3846/jbem. 2010.12
• Kılavuz E & Erdem İ (2019). Agriculture 4.0 applications in the world and transformation of Turkish agriculture. Social Sciences 14(4): 133 157 (In Turkish)
• Kour V P & Arora S (2020). Recent developments of the internet of things in agriculture: A survey. IEEE Access, 8: 129924-129957. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2020.3009298
• Kuhlmann K (2015). Harmonizing regional seed regulations in sub-Saharan Africa: A comparative assessment. Available at SSRN 4126687 http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4126687
• Lakhiar I A, Yan H, Zhang C, Wang G, He B, Hao B & Rakibuzzaman M (2024). A review of precision irrigation water-saving technology under changing climate for enhancing water use efficiency, crop yield, and environmental footprints. Agriculture 14(7): 1141. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14071141
• Makarem S C, Mudambi S M & Podoshen J S (2009). Satisfaction in technology‐enabled service encounters. Journal of Services Marketing 23(3): 134-144. https://doi.org/10.1108/08876040910955143
• Malche T & Maheshwary P. (2017). Internet of things (IoT) based water level monitoring system for smart village, pp. 305-312. In Proceedings of International Conference on Communication and Networks: ComNet 2016 (19-10 February). Springer Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-2750-5_32
• Marcu I, Suciu G, Bălăceanu C, Vulpe A & Drăgulinescu A M (2020). Arrowhead technology for digitalization and automation solution: Smart cities and smart agriculture. Sensors, 20(5): 1464. https://doi.org/10.3390/s20051464
• Marimuthu M, D'Souza C & Shukla Y (2022). Integrating community value into the adoption framework: A systematic review of conceptual research on participatory smart city applications. Technological Forecasting and Social Change 181: 121779. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2022.121779
• devices, Mekala M S & Viswanathan P (2017). A Survey: Smart agriculture IoT with cloud computing, 1-7. In 2017 international conference on microelectronic circuits and systems (ICMDCS) (10-12 August 2017, Tamil Nadu). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICMDCS.2017.8211551
• Mishbah M, Purwandari B & Sensuse D I (2018). Systematic review and meta-analysis of proposed smart village conceptual model: Objectives, strategies, dimensions, and foundations, pp. 127-133. In 2018
• International Conference on Information Technology Systems and Innovation (ICITSI) (22-26 October, Bandung- Padang) IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICITSI.2018.8696029
• Morkunas M & Volkov A (2023). The progress of the development of a climate-smart agriculture in Europe: Is there cohesion in the European Union? Environmental Management 71(6): 1111-1127. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-022-01782-w
• Muangprathub J, Boonnam N, Kajornkasirat S, Lekbangpong N, Wanichsombat A & Nillaor P (2019). IoT and agriculture data analysis for smart farm. Computers and electronics in agriculture 156: 467-474. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compag.2018.12.011
• Muhammad K B, Soomro T R, Butt J, Saleem H, Khan M A & Saleem S (2022). IoT and cloud based smart agriculture framework to improve crop yield meeting world's food needs. International Journal of Computer Science and Network Security 22(2): 7. https://doi.org/10.22937/IJCSNS.2022.22.6.52
• Muhsen Y R & Al-hchaimi A A J (2024). Modelling intelligent agriculture decision support tools to boost sustainable digitalization: Evidence from MCDM methods, pp. 93-105. In International Conference on Explainable Artificial Intelligence in the Digital Sustainability (19 June, Basrah). Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-63717-9_6 Mutenje M J, Farnworth C R, Stirling C, Thierfelder C, Mupangwa W & Nyagumbo I (2019). A cost-benefit analysis of climate-smart agriculture options in Southern Africa: Balancing gender and technology. Ecological Economics 163: 126-137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2019.05.013
• Muzari W, Gatsi W & Muvhunzi S (2012). The impacts of technology adoption on smallholder agricultural productivity in sub-Saharan Africa: A review. Journal of Sustainable Development 5(8): 69. http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/jsd.v5n8p69
• Ntaliani M, Costopoulou C, Karetsos S, Tambouris E & Tarabanis K (2010). Agricultural e-government services: An implementation framework and case study. Computers and electronics in agriculture 70(2): 337-347. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compag.2009.09.008
• Öztaş R G (2019). Integration of ICT Supported Innovative Solutions to Rural Area In Planning: The Case of Vodafone Smart Village, Gazi University (Unpublished) Master Thesis, Ankara, 192 pp (In Turkish)
• Öztaş Karlı R G (2020). From smart cities to smart villages, 30-47. Theory and Research in Architecture, Planning, and Design, (Eds. R. Kasmo & L. Kudumovic), Gece kitaplığı. (In Turkish)
• Öztaş Karlı R G, Karlı H & Çelikyay H S (2022). Investigating the acceptance of shared e-scooters: Empirical evidence from Turkey. Case Studies on Transport Policy 10(2): 1058-1068. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cstp.2022.03.018
• Öztaş Karlı RG, Özüduru B & Çelikyay S (2023). ICT-supported applications in rural area planning: Vodafone Smart Village model. Journal of Agriculture Faculty of Ege University 60(4): 541-559. https://doi.org/10.20289/zfdergi.1273336
• Philip L & Williams F (2019). Healthy ageing in smart villages? Observations from the field. European Countryside, 11(4): 616-633. . https://doi.org/10.2478/euco-2019-0034
• Prokopy L S, Arbuckle J G, Barnes A P, Haden V R, Hogan A, Niles M T & Tyndall J (2015). Farmers and climate change: A cross-national comparison of beliefs and risk perceptions in high-income countries. Environmental Management 56: 492-504. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-015-0504-2
• Raji E, Ijomah T I & Eyieyien O G (2024). Integrating technology, market strategies, and strategic management in agricultural economics for enhanced productivity. International Journal of Management & Entrepreneurship Research 6(7): 2112-2124. https://doi.org/10.51594/ijmer.v6i7.1260
• Rajkumar S, Ramachandran M, Saravanan V & Nanjundan P (2023). Evaluation of a WSM system for a smart system in agricultural systems. Building Materials and Engineering Structures 1(2): 17-25. http://doi.org/10.46632/bmes/1/2/3
• Rehman K U, Andleeb S, Ashfaq M, Akram N & Akram M W (2023). Blockchain-enabled smart agriculture: Enhancing data-driven decision management making and ensuring food security. Journal of Cleaner Production 427: 138900. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.138900
• Schwering D S, Bergmann L & Sonntag W I (2022). How to encourage farmers to digitize? A study on user typologies and motivations of farm information systems. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture 199: 107133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compag.2022.107133
• Sennuga S O & Oyewole S O (2020). Exploring the effectiveness of agricultural technologies training among smallholder farmers in Sub Saharan African communities. European Journal of Training and Development Studies 7(4): 1-15
• Shahsavar S, Jafari Rad A, Afzal P, Nezafati N & Akhavan Aghdam M (2019). Prospecting for polymetallic mineralization using step-wise weight assessment ratio analysis (SWARA) and fractal modeling in Aghkand Area, NW Iran. Arabian Journal of Geosciences 12: 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-019-4304-5
• Singh G & Kaur G (2021). Digital technologies for smart agriculture, 54-67. In: Artificial Intelligence and IoT-Based Technologies for Sustainable Farming and Smart Agriculture, (Eds. P. Tomar & G. Kaur), IGI Global, 400 pp Sizirici B, Fseha Y, Cho C S, Yildiz I & Byon Y J (2021). A review of carbon footprint reduction in construction industry, from design to operation. Materials 14(20): 6094. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14206094
• Somwanshi R, Shindepatil U, Tule D, Mankar A, Ingle N, Rajamanya G B D V & Deshmukh A (2016). Study and development of village as a smart village. International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research 7(6): 395-408
• Soni K, Waghela D, Shah R & Mohan M (2018). Smart well monitoring system, 1-5. In 2018 International Conference on Smart City and Emerging Technology (ICSCET) (5 January, 2018). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICSCET.2018.8537264
• Stoian M, Dobre I, Popescu C G, Vasile M C, Dimitriu A T & Ion A (2022). Increasing sustainability of food production and ensuring human health through agriculture digitalization. Economics of Agriculture 69(4): 1209-1223. https://doi.org/10.5937/ekoPolj2204209S
• SVI (2019). Smart villages. (Web page: https://smartvillage.ieee.org/about-ieee-smart-village/) (Data accessed: July 2024). Tey Y S & Brindal M (2012). Factors influencing the adoption of precision agricultural technologies: A review for policy implications. Precision Agriculture 13: 713-730. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11119-012-9273-6
• United Nations (2024). THE 17 GOALS. (Web page: https://sdgs.un.org/goals) (Data accessed: July 2024). Utlu N (2024). Digital marketing strategy selection with SWARA method. Doğuş Üniversitesi Dergisi 25(1): 341-355. https://doi.org/10.31671/doujournal.1356008 (In Turkish)
• Uztürk D & Büyüközkan G (2022). Smart agriculture technology evaluation: A linguistic-based MCDM methodology, 161-174. Proceedings of the 5th Symposium on Agri-Tech Economics for Sustainable Futures (19-20 September, 2022, Newport). https://doi.org/10.22004/ag.econ.337128
• Wang H, Chung J E, Park N, McLaughlin M L & Fulk J (2012). Understanding online community participation: A technology acceptance perspective. Communication Research 39(6): 781-801. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650211408593
• Watson J K (2019). Energy diversification and self-sustainable smart villages, 99-109. In: Smart Villages in the EU and Beyond (Eds. A. Visvizi, M.D. Lytras & G. Mudri). Emerald Publishing Limited 208 pp. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-78769-845-120191008
• Yang C, Ji X, Cheng C, Liao S, Obuobi B & Zhang Y (2024). Digital economy empowers sustainable agriculture: Implications for farmers’ adoption of ecological agricultural technologies. Ecological Indicators 159: 111723. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.111723R
• Yigezu Y A, Mugera A, El-Shater T, Aw-Hassan A, Piggin C, Haddad A ... & Loss S (2018). Enhancing adoption of agricultural technologies requiring high initial investment among smallholders. Technological Forecasting and Social Change 134: 199-206. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2018.06.006
• Zavratnik V, Kos A & Stojmenova Duh E (2018). Smart villages: Comprehensive review of initiatives and practices. Sustainability 10(7): 2559. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10072559
• Zhang X & Zhang Z (2020). How do smart villages become a way to achieve sustainable development in rural areas? Smart village planning and practices in China. Sustainability 12(24) 10510. https://doi.org/10.3390/su122410510
• Zolfani S H & Banihashemi S S A (2014). Personnel selection based on a novel model of game theory and MCDM approaches, 15-16. In Proc. of 8th International Scientific Conference Business and Management (15-16 May 2014, Vilnius). http://dx.doi.org/10.3846/bm.2014.024
• Zolfani S H & Saparauskas J (2013). New application of SWARA method in prioritizing sustainability assessment indicators of energy system. Engineering Economics 24(5): 408-414. https://doi.org/10.5755/j01.ee.24.5.4526