An analysis of energy use and relation between energy inputs and yield, costs and income of garlic production in Iran

This paper studies the energy balance between the input and the output per unit area for garlic in Hamedan province of Iran. In this study, data were collected by administering a questionnaire in face-to-face interviews. Results showed that the highest share of energy consumption belongs to chemical fertilizers (41.7%) followed by diesel (13.94%). The results indicated that a total energy input of 40307.89 MJ ha(-1) was consumed for garlic production. The energy productivity and net energy value were estimated as 0.416 kg MJ(-1) and -13477.82 MJ ha(-1), respectively. The ratio of energy outputs to energy inputs was approximately 0.66. Results indicated that direct, indirect, renewable and non-renewable energies were (28.14%), (71.85%), (36.73%) and (63.26%), respectively. Highest shares of expenses were found to be 45% and 19% for human labor and hired machineries, respectively. Cost analysis revealed that total cost of production for 1 ha garlic production was around 6969.11$. Accordingly, the benefit-cost ratio was estimated as 1.36. Using Cobb-Douglas model, energy function was estimated with the coefficient of determination, R-2 of (80%), and expenses function was estimated with coefficient of determination, R-2 of (83%). (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.