Energy use pattern and sensitivity analysis of energy inputs for saffron production in Iran | ||
| تحقیقات گیاهان دارویی و معطر ایران | ||
| Article 11, Volume 40, Issue 4 - Serial Number 122, December 2024, Pages 855-867 PDF (1.55 M) | ||
| Document Type: Research Paper | ||
| DOI: 10.22092/ijmapr.2024.363273.3363 | ||
| Authors | ||
| M. Khoobbakht* 1; R. Rahimi2; Kh. Karimzadeh3 | ||
| 1Assistant Professor, Department of Agricultural Engineering, Payam Noor University | ||
| 2Mechanization Research Division, Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands, Tehran, Iran | ||
| 3Assistant profesor, Research Institute of Forests and Rangelandsو Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization | ||
| Abstract | ||
| Background and objectives: Saffron is one of the most iconic and valuable plants in Iran, with a cultivation history that spans centuries. It is a key agricultural product for export, contributing significantly to the country's foreign currency earnings. As the world's leading saffron producer, Iran accounts for 60% of global production. This study aims to analyze the patterns of energy use in saffron cultivation and explore the relationships between energy inputs and yield in the west of Isfahan province, Iran. Methodology: This research gathered the necessary data through questionnaires and interviews with saffron farmers. The inputs analyzed in the study included human labor, machinery, diesel fuel, chemical and organic fertilizers, irrigation water, electricity, and seed energy. The energy equivalent for each input was determined by multiplying the input quantities by their respective energy coefficients. Based on the energy equivalents of both inputs and outputs, key energy indices such as energy ratio (energy use efficiency), energy productivity, and specific energy were calculated. The energy ratio (energy use efficiency) was calculated using the formula: Energy Ratio = Energy Output (MJ ha⁻¹) / Energy Input (MJ ha⁻¹). To establish a mathematical relationship between energy inputs and yield, the Cobb-Douglas production function was applied. In this study, energy requirements were categorized into four groups: direct, indirect, renewable, and non-renewable. The marginal physical productivity (MPP) method was employed to analyze the sensitivity of energy inputs in saffron production. This method assesses how the performance changes when one unit of energy input is increased, while holding other production factors constant. A positive MPP value for any input suggests that increasing the input will result in higher output, implying that the input should continue to be used until the resource reaches its limit. Conversely, a negative MPP value indicates that additional units of the input decrease performance, signaling that further input use would be inefficient. Results: The results of this study revealed that the corm used for cultivation (seed) accounted for the highest proportion of energy consumption in saffron production, contributing 54.11%, followed by manure (13.51%) and electricity (11%). Notably, the proportion of renewable energy in saffron cultivation exceeded that of non-renewable energy consumption. Two methods were employed to calculate energy use efficiency in saffron production: one based on the total outputs, including stigma, leaf, and corm, and the other considering only the saffron stigma. For this study, the energy use efficiency was found to be 0.002 when based solely on saffron stigma. The R² value for the Cobb-Douglas production function, which was based on energy consumption, was estimated at 0.84, indicating that the model explained 84% of the variability in performance based on the five input factors: labor, irrigation water, machinery, chemical fertilizers, and animal fertilizers. The results of the Cobb-Douglas model demonstrated that the energy inputs of human labor, machinery, chemical and animal fertilizers, and irrigation water had a significant impact on yield. Furthermore, the sensitivity analysis revealed that human labor had the highest marginal physical productivity (MPP) among all input energies. With an MPP value of 0.87, human labor had the most substantial effect on saffron production, significantly influencing the overall output compared to other energy inputs. Conclusion: The results of this study indicated that the total energy consumed in saffron production was 138,319 MJ/ha. Of this, renewable energy accounted for 16.46% of the total energy used. The key energy indices for saffron production were as follows: energy use efficiency was 3.7, energy productivity was 0.24 kg MJ⁻¹, specific energy was 4.8 MJ kg⁻¹, and net energy was 377,600 MJ ha⁻¹. These values provide a comprehensive overview of the energy dynamics involved in saffron cultivation, highlighting both the energy intensity and efficiency of the production process. | ||
| Keywords | ||
| Input; energy; efficiency; saffron | ||
| References | ||
|
- Acaroglu, M., 1998. Energy from biomass, and applications. University of Selc-uk, Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences. Textbook (unpublished- Turkish). - Emadi, B., Nikkhah, A., Khojastehpour, M. and Payman, S.H., 2015. Effect of farm size on energy consumption and input costs of peanut production in Guilan province, Iran. Agricultural Machinery, 5(1): 217-227. - Gundogmus, E., 2006. Energy use on organic farming: A comparative analysis on organic versus conventional apricot production on small holding in Turkey. Energy Conversion and Management, 47: 3351-335. - Khanali, M., Movahedi, M., Yousefi, M., Jahangiri, S. and Khoshnevisan, B., 2016. Investigating energy balance and carbon footprint in saffron cultivation e a case study in Iran. Journal of Cleaner Production, 115: 162-171. - Kitani, O., 1999. CIGR handbook of agricultural engineering, Volume 5: Energy and biomass engineering. ASAE Publications, St Joseph, MI. - Kizilaslan, H., 2009. Input–output energy analysis of cherries production in Tokat Province of Turkey. Applied Energy, 86: 1354-1358. - Moayyedi Shahraki, E., Jami Al-Ahmadi, M. and Behdani, M.A., 2010. Study of energy efficiency of saffron (Crocus sativus L.) in Southern Khorasan. Agroecology, 2(1): 55-62. - Mohammadshirazi, A., Akram, A., Rafiee, S., Mousavi-Avval, S.H. and Bagheri, E., 2012. An analysis of energy use and relation between energy inputs and yield in tangerine production. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 16: 4515-4521. - Moore, S.R., 2010. Energy efficiency in small-scale biointensive organic onion production in Pennsylvania, USA. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, 25: 181-188. - Mousavi-Avval, S.H., 2011. Comparison of energy consumption pattern and analysis of mechanization indicators in soybean, rapeseed and sunflower production in Gorgan, Aliabad and Kalaleh cities in Golestan province. Master's Thesis, Agricultural Mechanization Engineering, Faculty of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, University of Tehran. - Mousavi-Avval, S.H., Rafiee, S., Jafari, A., Mohammadi, A., 2011. Optimization of energy consumption for soybean production using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) approach. Applied Energy, 88: 3765-3772. - Nikkhah, A., Emadi, B., Shabanian, F. and Hamzeh-Kalkenari, H., 2014. Energy sensitivity analysis and greenhouse gas emissions for tea production in guilan province, Iran. Agroecology, 6: 622-633. - Ozkan, B., Akcaoz, H. and Karadeniz, F., 2004. Energy requirement and economic analysis of citrus production in Turkey. Energy Conversion and Management, 45: 1821-1830. - Ozkan, B., Ceylan, R.F. and Kizilay, H., 2011. Comparison of energy inputs in glasshouse double crop (fall and summer crops) tomato production. Renewable Energy, 36: 1639-1644. - Pahlavan, R., Omid, M., Rafiee, S. and Mousavi-Avval, S.H., 2012. Optimization of energy consumption for rose production in Iran. Energy for Sustainable Development, 16: 236-241. - Rajabi Hamedani, S., Keyhani, A. and Alimardani, R., 2011. Energy use patterns and econometric models of grape production in Hamadan province of Iran. Energy, 36(11): 6345-6351. - Royan, M., Khojastehpour, M., Emadi, B. and Ghasemi Mobtakr, H., 2012. Investigation of energy inputs for peach production using sensitivity analysis in Iran. Energy Conversion and Management, 64: 441-446. - Sahabi, H., feizi, H. and karbasi, A., 2016. Is saffron more energy and economic efficient than wheat in crop rotation systems in northeast Iran. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 5: 29-35. - Shaghozayi, S. and Nadi, F., 2015. Energy modeling of plum production in Golestan province. Iranian journal of Biosystem Engineering, 47: 541-549. - Singh, J.M., 2002. On farm energy use pattern in different cropping systems in Haryana, India. Germany: Master of Science, International Institute of Management, University of Flensburg. - Singh, S. and Mittal, J.P., 1992. Energy in production agriculture. Mittal Publications, 213p. - Thankappan, S., Midmore, P. and Jenkins, T., 2006. Conserving energy in smallholder agriculture: A multi-objective programming case-study of northwest India. Ecological Economics, 56(2): 190-208. | ||
|
Statistics Article View: 672 PDF Download: 508 |
||
Journal management system. designed by sinaweb