Moving to precision farming: costs, returns, shared use and support schemes

What precision farming tools do is no longer a matter of debate for most farmers; the real question is when the investment will pay back on their own farm. This guide summarises adoption data in the EU, findings on costs and returns, starting points by farm size and current support schemes in Türkiye and Greece. Technical details of the tools are in the guide “The core tools of precision farming”.

Adoption: scale is decisive

According to Eurostat data for 2023, about 18% of EU farms applied at least one precision farming technology, and these farms managed about 44% of the utilised agricultural area. The share of area managed by farms using precision farming varies widely between countries: above 75% in Luxembourg, Finland and Estonia, about 1% in Cyprus and between 10% and 15% in Greece and Romania (Eurostat, 2026). Calculated by farm size from the same dataset, the gap is even clearer: in the EU about 7% of farms under 5 hectares, about 19% of those with 5-30 hectares, about 38% of those with 30-100 hectares and about 55% of those with 100 hectares or more apply precision farming (Eurostat, ef_mp_digicr).

The JRC survey of 971 farmers in five countries including Greece shows the same picture: high investment costs, small farm size and farmers' age are the three main obstacles to adoption. The report stresses that large farms have a lower investment cost per hectare and a greater benefit from input reduction (JRC, 2019).

Returns: what the numbers say

In the JRC partial budget analysis, even without the capital cost of the equipment, the annual effect on net income varied widely: from EUR -18 to +34 per hectare for machine guidance and from EUR -16 to +411 per hectare for variable-rate nitrogen application, with negative effects for some farm size classes. Between 40% and 47% of users perceived the payback period as shorter than 5 years, while about a quarter saw it as longer than 11 years (JRC, 2019). The EIP-AGRI focus group stresses that on small farms and farms with limited revenues it is especially difficult to demonstrate the return on investment, because the investment required and the actual reduction of inputs are often not known in advance (EIP-AGRI, 2015).

A simple calculation therefore helps before deciding: put the annual benefit (inputs and working time saved, yield difference) next to the annual cost (depreciation, correction signal subscription, maintenance, training). If the return is not positive, buying the same work as a service or sharing equipment should be considered.

Where to start, by farm size

Shared use: cooperatives, machinery pools, services

EIP-AGRI notes that precision farming services could be offered by larger neighbouring farms at lower cost or by companies as a service, and that service models requiring no capital investment should be evaluated for smaller farms (EIP-AGRI, 2015). The support rules of both countries point the same way:

• In Türkiye, only agricultural producer organisations can use the “shared machinery pool” heading of the Rural Development Investment Programme (Official Gazette, 2026). According to the implementing principles, the aim is for the organisation to rent the machines to its members for joint use; machines used only at the organisation's own facility are excluded. Agricultural drones are also supported only for agricultural producer organisations (Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, 2026).
• In Greece, the eco-scheme for precision spraying and fertilisation accepts documentation of a service provided by a third party instead of a purchase invoice for the equipment (YPAAT, 2024). Collective schemes such as producer groups, producer organisations and cooperatives can also apply to the Farm Improvement Plans call (YPAAT, 2026).

The legal framework for cooperatives in both countries is covered in a separate guide on the platform.

Support schemes

Türkiye: Rural Development Investment Programme (2026)

Communiqué No. 2026/9, published in the Official Gazette (Resmî Gazete) on 3 April 2026, explicitly added digitalisation, sensor systems, smart farming technologies and agricultural platform solutions to the programme's scope. Investment topics include Internet of Things (IoT) based smart farming applications, decision support and production monitoring technologies, robotics, automation and image processing in agriculture, and other agricultural information systems; in these topics only applications for the modernisation and automation of existing facilities are accepted. The grant covers 50% to 70% of the eligible project amount including VAT; the project amount must be at least TRY 100,000 and at most TRY 30 million, or at most TRY 8 million for family farms (Official Gazette, 2026). According to the implementing principles, annual subscription and membership fees, data and internet subscriptions, GSM lines and maintenance, update and technical service contracts are not eligible (Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, 2026). Which topics apply in which province is announced each year in the implementation guide.

Greece: CAP Strategic Plan 2023-2027

• Farm Improvement Plans (Π3-73-2.1, Π3-73-2.2, Π3-73-2.6): the call of the Greek Ministry of Rural Development and Food (YPAAT) was published in September 2026; applications are submitted through the OPSKE system between 6 October 2026 and 20 January 2027 at 13:00. Total public expenditure is about EUR 263.5 million, of which about EUR 29.9 million is allocated to Thessaly. Items classed as “cutting-edge technology equipment” receive 60% support: auto-steering retrofitted to an existing tractor with documented pass-to-pass accuracy of ±3 cm or better; a complete ISOBUS set-up with UT and a Task Controller supporting TC-SC or TC-GEO; and camera- or GNSS-guided mechanical hoes for crops such as cotton, maize and processing tomato on farms growing at least 10 hectares (3 hectares for young farmers) of row crops. Sprayers with automatic section and rate control, sprayers with individual nozzle control, variable-rate spreaders and electrostatic sprayers are also in the 60% group. For young farmers these rates rise by 10 percentage points (to a maximum of 70%); water-saving investments receive 70% and tractors and implements 50%. Drones for applying plant protection products are not eligible (YPAAT, 2026).
• Eco-scheme Π1-31.6: precision spraying receives a maximum of EUR 70 per hectare and precision fertilisation with a variable-rate spreader a maximum of EUR 100 per hectare. These actions are taken together with the compulsory action 31.6-Α, which provides a maximum of EUR 12 per hectare for using a digital application and EUR 18 per hectare for the Environmental Management Plan; the total a farmer can receive from this action cannot exceed either EUR 800 or 5% of the support received from the other 31.6 actions (YPAAT, 2024).

A short checklist before deciding

1. Baseline data: inputs, fuel, working hours and yield per decare for one season.
2. Service quote: the cost of having the same job done by a contractor, a neighbouring farm or a cooperative.
3. Compatibility: ISOBUS and data transfer compatibility with the existing tractor and implements.
4. Support calendar: the current call text and list of eligible costs; rates and amounts can change with every call, so always read the official text before applying.

Sources

1. Eurostat, 2026. 43% of EU farms with internet access (news, 24 July 2026; reference year 2023) (accessed 29 September 2026)
2. Eurostat, 2026. Precision farming by age and training of manager, size of farm and NUTS 2 region (dataset ef_mp_digicr, 2023) (accessed 29 September 2026)
3. JRC, 2019. Soto, I. et al. The contribution of precision agriculture technologies to farm productivity and the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions in the EU (JRC112505, doi:10.2760/016263) (accessed 29 September 2026)
4. EIP-AGRI, 2015. EIP-AGRI Focus Group Precision Farming: Final Report (accessed 29 September 2026)
5. Resmî Gazete, 2026. Kırsal Kalkınma Yatırım Programı Çerçevesinde Yapılacak Desteklemeler Hakkında Tebliğ (Tebliğ No: 2026/9), 3.4.2026, sayı 33213 (accessed 29 September 2026)
6. T.C. Tarım ve Orman Bakanlığı, Tarım Reformu Genel Müdürlüğü, 2026. Kırsal Kalkınma Yatırım Programı 2026 Başvuru Dönemi Uygulama Esasları (Tebliğ No: 2026/9) (accessed 29 September 2026)
7. ΥΠΑΑΤ, 2026. Πρόσκληση εκδήλωσης ενδιαφέροντος για τις Παρεμβάσεις Π3-73-2.1, Π3-73-2.2 και Π3-73-2.6 του ΣΣ ΚΑΠ 2023-2027 (ΑΔΑ: ΡΘΗΟ4653ΠΓ-ΧΙ7), Περιφέρεια Θεσσαλίας (accessed 29 September 2026)
8. ΥΠΑΑΤ, 2024. ΥΑ 3430/2024: 4η τροποποίηση της ΥΑ 2207/2023 για τα οικολογικά προγράμματα Π1-31.1, Π1-31.2, Π1-31.5 και Π1-31.6 του ΣΣ ΚΑΠ 2023-2027 (ΦΕΚ Β΄ 4821/21.08.2024) (accessed 29 September 2026)