Artificial Intelligence in Smart Agriculture: Perceptions of Agricultural Employees in Nineveh Governorate

الملخص

This research aims to identify the perceived importance of artificial intelligence (AI) in smart agriculture from the perspective of agricultural employees, rank its roles, examine correlations with independent variables including gender, age, training courses, and participation in activities, and determine key obstacles. To collect data, a questionnaire comprising personal information and a 20-item scale with a high reliability coefficient of 0.98 was administered to a simple random sample of 200 agricultural employees, representing 61 percent of the total population of 329 employees across the Nineveh Agriculture Directorate and its 32 affiliated divisions. The results revealed that the perceived importance of AI in smart agriculture was high, driven by its significant role in increasing production, improving living standards, eradicating poverty, and achieving food security. Among the items, the statement regarding smart irrigation systems helping provide necessary water quantities ranked first with a weighted average of 4.17 and a percentage weight of 83.40 percent. Furthermore, statistical analysis showed a significant correlation at the 0.01 level between the perceived importance of AI and both gender and participation in AI-related activities, as well as a significant correlation at the 0.05 level with AI training courses, while age showed no significant correlation. Finally, the study identified major obstacles facing employees, particularly concerns regarding the responsibility of using AI, difficulties in understanding the technology, and time constraints. Consequently, the researcher recommends providing intensive training courses for agricultural workers to enhance their expertise and promote AI adoption to support food security.