Energy efficiency in five agroecosystems in the municipality of Pinar del Río

Abstract

In the context of conventional agriculture, where the use of external inputs causes negative impacts on agricultural systems, energy efficiency studies are a vitally important element to mediate their sustainability. The research was carried out in the municipality of Pinar del Río with the objective of evaluating the energy efficiency of five agroecosystems with differences in the productive processes they develop. The productivity and energy efficiency indexes were calculated with the use of Energy 3.01 software, among which the following were considered: energy consumed, energy produced, protein production, people fed by the agroecosystem with the production of protein and energy, energy cost of protein, energy intensity and energy balance. It was found that the agroecosystems evaluated depend on external inputs for the development of productive processes, affecting their energy efficiency, a result that suggests the need to promote greater diversification of production and the use of agroecological practices, appropriate to local conditions that guarantee greater sustainability.

Keywords

• energy balance
• productivity
• protein
• sustainability