Investigation of shallot production system in terms of energy-economic-environmental in Iran

Lotfalian Dehkordi, Amin; Abedi, Asghar

Investigation of shallot production system in terms of energy-economic-environmental in Iran

2021

Lotfalian Dehkordi, Amin | Abedi, Asghar

Assessment of environmental consequences of agri-food products during their life cycle is currently identified as the most important and efficient way to investigate agricultural systems. In addition to the environmental impacts, energy and economic issues are considered major issues in the life cycle of products. The present study aimed to investigate and assess the energy flow, environmental, and economic dimensions during shallot production in farms of Iran. Given the limited number of shallot farmers, the required data were collected from 22 shallot farms through the census method in the Shahrekord region. Based on the results obtained from the energy analysis, energy input and output and energy ratio (ER) were obtained as 107,145 and 36,243 MJ ha⁻¹ and 0.4, respectively. Also, electricity was identified as major contributor to energy consumption with the contribution of 74%. Results related to the economic analysis of shallot production revealed that the values of total production, economic productivity, and benefit-cost ratio (BCR) are 15,672 US$ ha⁻¹, 10.89 kg US$⁻¹, and 8.45, respectively. Based on the life cycle assessment results, the contribution of input consumption in the farms and input production to total environmental impacts were determined as 55 and 45%, respectively. Also, normalization of results showed that the marine ecotoxicity (ME) and global warming potential (GWP) impact categories were the main environmental impacts during shallot production. ME and GWP impacts can be attributed to the indirect emissions of electricity and direct emissions of inputs in the farm, respectively.

Показать больше [+]