Determining the Factors Affecting Tractor Owners’ Purchasing Decisions: The Case of Biga District

Authors : Ünal Ürkmez, Gıyasettin Çiçek

Pages : 70-81

View : 36 | Download : 133

Publication Date : 2025-12-30

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :This study examined tractor purchase preferences and the socio-economic characteristics of tractor owners in the Biga district. Using proportional sampling, face-to-face interviews were conducted, and a Likert-type questionnaire was administered to rank factors influencing purchasing decisions. Demographically, the majority of tractor owners were aged 40–49 years (31%), with 32% having completed secondary education, and the average landholding was 123 decares, indicating moderate farm sizes. Furthermore, 41% of the producers were actively engaged in livestock farming, and 68% were formally registered cooperative members, reflecting a heterogeneous and economically diverse socio-agricultural profile. The findings revealed that price was the most decisive factor in tractor purchasing decisions. Price was followed by fuel consumption, after-sales service, spare parts service, and tractor power, all of which played an important role in shaping farmers’ preferences. In contrast, factors such as brand, transmission system, credit and interest rate, regional prevalence of the brand’s use, dealer–salesperson recommendation, and acquaintances’ recommendation were found to have relatively limited influence on decision-making. The analysis also showed that land size was the only socio-economic variable that exhibited a statistically significant relationship with the importance attributed to price. As land size increased, farmers were notably more likely to regard price as a less important factor in their tractor purchasing decisions.
Keywords : Traktör tercihleri, Tarımsal mekanizasyon, Satın alma davranışı, Çiftçi kararları

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