Soil & Environment (May 2009)
Energy requirement and economic analysis of rice production in western part of Pakistan
Abstract
tract This study examines energy use pattern and the relationship between energy inputs and rice production in Dera Ismail Khan, District of Pakistan. The information used in this study were based on cross-sectional data collected from growers by using face-to-face interviews. The sample farms were selected through a stratified sampling technique. The results revealed that energy consumption and rice yield were 5,756 kWh and 3.23 tonnes per hectare on Bullock Operated Farms (BOF) and 11,162 kWh and 4.12 tonnes per hectare on Tractor Operated Farms (TOF). Consumption of animate energy on BOF was more than TOF due to heavy use of animate energy in land preparation operation. Result also showed that energy efficiency i.e. output-input ratio on BOF (6.32) was higher than TOF (4.16). Cost of production remained lower on BOF than TOF, however, the yield and consequently crop values and net return were higher on TOF than BOF. It was concluded that increase in energy consumption at farm level increased yield ofrice, hence the farmers with higher cost ofproduction could get better return of their crop.
