Alanya fruit growers turn to smart greenhouses as drought pressure reshapes production
Fruit growers in Alanya are upgrading banana and avocado greenhouses with automated controls to save water and energy, cut labour needs and keep production viable under intensifying drought pressure.
Fruit growers in Alanya are moving deeper into smart farming as climate change and drought reshape production on Türkiye’s Mediterranean coast. Hürriyet Daily News reports that farmers who have increasingly shifted from traditional vegetables into tropical fruits such as bananas and avocados are now modernising greenhouses with automated systems aimed at improving efficiency while reducing water and energy use.
Mehmet Hüddoğlu, a representative of local producers, said the sector was taking rapid steps to adapt to changing climate conditions. Working with universities, growers are introducing automated irrigation, ventilation and humidity-control systems. The idea is to monitor greenhouse conditions continuously and respond without relying on constant manual intervention.
According to the article, the technology optimises watering according to soil conditions, helping save resources while maintaining crop health. Hüddoğlu said the long-term objective was to convert all greenhouses in the region into smart facilities. For Alanya, that makes the shift more than a simple equipment upgrade. It is being treated as a production response to a new climate reality.
The report also says producers are receiving training and certification through GlobalGAP and Good Agricultural Practices programmes in order to align better with international standards. To reduce energy costs, some growers have started installing solar power systems in their greenhouses with support from government incentives. In practice, that means the transition is affecting both crop management and farm energy systems.
Local producers say the gains from automation can be substantial. They estimate that smart systems can reduce labour costs by up to 70%, cut water consumption by as much as 50% and lift productivity by 20-30%. Banana and avocado grower Ali Rıza Selimoğlu said many greenhouse operations can already be managed remotely by smartphone, including ventilation, irrigation, fertilisation and humidity control, while the system sends alerts when temperatures rise or soil moisture falls. For horticulture in drought-prone regions, that combination of water efficiency, remote control and productivity improvement gives the story clear agronomic significance beyond a local technology update.