Energy Efficiency Analysis of White Button Mushroom Producers in Alburz Province of Iran: A Data Envelopment Analysis Approach

Habib Reyhani Farashah, Seyed Ahmad Tabatabaeifar, Ali Rajabipour, Paria Sefeedpari

Department of Agricultural Machinery Engineering, Faculty of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran.

DOI: 10.4236/ojee.2013.22010                

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine energy consumption pattern and specifically to measure and benchmark the efficiency for white button mushroom production in Alburz province of Iran. The data used in this study were collected by interviewing mushroom producers in the region. In the surveyed farms, average yield and total energy consumption were calculated as around 208.46 kg·ton^-1 compost and 133.25 MJ·ton^-1, respectively. The results revealed that fossil fuel (40.43%), compost (30.45%) and electricity (27.42%) consumed the bulk of energy. The results of DEA approach also showed that 12 and 14 farmers had efficiency score of unity. Electricity and fossil fuel were found to be used in excess in target mushroom production farms. Moreover, we came to the conclusion that the total energy consumption can be reduced to 120.15 MJ·ton^-1 for mushroom production in which diesel fuel energy (50.89 MJ·ton^-1), FYM (37.32 MJ·ton^-1) and electricity (30.34 MJ·ton^-1) energies were considerably significant.

Keywords

Energy; Technical Efficiency; Data Envelopment Analysis; White Button Mushroom Production

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	S. G. Walde, V. Velu, T. Jyothirmayi and R. G. Math, “Effects of Pretreatments and Drying Methods on Dehydration of Mushroom,” Journal of Food Engineering, Vol. 74, No. 1, 2006, pp. 108-115. doi:10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2005.02.008
[2]	M. Goltape and I. Pourjam, “Principles of Button Mushrooms,” Tarbiat Modares Univesity Publication, Tehran, 2001. (in Persian)
[3]	A. Mohammadi, S. Rafiee and S. Mohtasebi and H. Rafiee, “Energy Inputs—Yield Relationship and Cost Analysis of Kiwifruit Production in Iran,” Renewable Energy, Vol. 35 No. 5, 2010, pp. 1071-1075. doi:10.1016/j.renene.2009.09.004
[4]	R. Fadavi, A. Keyhani and S. S. Mohtasebi, “Estimation of a Mechanization Index in Apple Orchard in Iran,” Journal of Agricultural Science, Vol. 2, 2010, pp. 180-185.
[5]	S. Ra?ee, S. H. Mousavi Avval and A. Mohammadi, “Modeling and Sensitivity Analysis of Energy Inputs for Apple Production in Iran,” Energy, Vol. 35, No. 8, 2010, pp. 3301-3306. doi:10.1016/j.energy.2010.04.015
[6]	B. Ozkan, C. Fert and C. F. Karadeniz, “Energy and Cost Analysis for Greenhouse and Open-Field Grape Production Grape Production,” Vol. 32, 2007, pp. 1500-1504.
[7]	M. Uzunoz, Y. Akcay and K. Esengun, “Energy Input-Output Analysis of Sunflower Seed (Helianthus annuus L.) Oil in Turkey,” Energy Sources Part B-Economics Planning and Policy, Vol. 3, No. 3, 2008, pp. 215-223. doi:10.1080/15567240701231834
[8]	L. Kallivroussis, A. Natsis and G. Papadakis, “The Energy Balance of Sunflower Production for Biodiesel in Greece,” Biosytems Engineering, Vol. 81, No. 3, 2002, pp. 347-354. doi:10.1006/bioe.2001.0021
[9]	S. H. Mousavi Avval, S. Rafiee, A. Jafari and A. Mohammadi, “Investigating the Energy Consumption in Different Operations of Oilseed Productions in Iran,” Journal of Agricultural Technology, Vol. 7, No. 3, 2011, pp. 557-565.
[10]	M. Canakci and I. Akinci, “Energy Use Pattern Analyses of Greenhouse Vegetable Production,” Energy, Vol. 31, No. 8-9, 2006, pp. 1243-1256. doi:10.1016/j.energy.2005.05.021
[11]	S. A. Hatirli, B. Ozkan and C. Fert, “Energy Inputs and Crop Yield Relationship in Greenhouse Tomato Production,” Renewable Energy, Vol. 31, No. 4, 2006, pp. 427-438. doi:10.1016/j.renene.2005.04.007
[12]	H. D. Sherman, “Service Organization Productivity Management,” The Society of Management Accountants of Canada, Hamilton, 1988.
[13]	K. Mukherjee, “Energy Use Efficiency in the Indian Manufacturing Sector: An Interstate Analysis,” Energy Policy, Vol. 36, No. 2, 2008, pp. 662-672. doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2007.10.015
[14]	G. Singh, S. Singh and J. Singh, “Optimization of Energy Inputs for Wheat Crop in Punjab,” Energy Conversion and Management, Vol. 45, No. 3, 2004, pp. 453-465. doi:10.1016/S0196-8904(03)00155-9
[15]	P. Sefeedpari, “Assessment and Optimization of Energy Consumption in Dairy Farm: Energy Efficiency,” Iranica Journal of Energy & Environment, Vol. 3, No. 3, 2012, pp. 213-224.
[16]	P. Sefeedpari, S. Rafiee and A. Akram, “Selecting Energy Efficient Poultry Egg Producers: A Fuzzy Data Envelopment Analysis Approach,” International Journal of Applied Operational Research , Vol. 2, No. 2, 2012, pp. 77-88.
[17]	E. Reig-Martínez and A. J. Picazo-Tadeo, “Analysing Farming Systems with Data Envelopment Analysis: Citrus Farming in Spain,” Agricultural Systems, Vol. 82, No. 1, 2004, pp. 17-30. doi:10.1016/j.agsy.2003.12.002
[18]	S. H. Mousavi-Avval, S. Ra?ee and A. Mohammadi, “Optimization of Energy Consumption and Input Costs for Apple Production In Iran Using Data Envelopment Analysis,” Energy, Vol. 36, No. 2, 2011, pp. 909-916. doi:10.1016/j.energy.2010.12.020
[19]	A. Mohammadi, S. Ra?ee, S. S. Mohtasebi, S. H. Mousavi Avval and H. Ra?ee, “Energy Efficiency Improvement and Input Cost Saving in Kiwifruit Production Using Data Envelopment Analysis Approach,” Renewable Energy, Vol. 36, No. 9, 2011, pp. 2573-2579. doi:10.1016/j.renene.2010.10.036
[20]	H. Reyhani Farashah, “Study on Energy Efficiency and Assessment of Economical Indices of the Button Mushroom Production Units in The Provinces of Alborz Using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) Approach,” M.S. Thesis, University of Tehran, Tehran, 2012. (in Persian)
[21]	Jamshidi, “Sustainability Analysis of Greenhouse Systems in Alburz Province of Iran,” M.S. Thesis, University of Tehran, Tehran, 2011. (in Persian)
[22]	D. Pimentel and M. Pimentel, “Food, Energy and Society,” Resource and Environmental Science Series, Edward Arnold Publ., London, 1979.
[23]	M. Canakci, M. Topakci, I. Akinci and A. Ozmerzi, “Energy Use Pattern of Some Field Crops and Vegetable Production: Case Study for Antalya Region, Turkey,” Energy Conversion and Management, Vol. 46, No. 4, 2005, pp. 655-666. doi:10.1016/j.enconman.2004.04.008
[24]	S. Singh and J. P. Mital, “Energy in Production Agriculture,” Mittal Pub, New Delhi, 1992.
[25]	Kitani, “CIGR Handbook of Agricultural Engineering,” Vol. V, Energy and Biomass Engineering, ASAE Publication, ST Joseph, 1999.
[26]	S. Rafiee, S. H. Mousavi Avval and A. Mohammadi, “Modeling and Sensitivity Analysis of Energy Inputs for Apple Production in Iran,” Energy, Vol. 35, No. 8, 2010, pp. 3301-3306. doi:10.1016/j.energy.2010.04.015
[27]	M. Ghafarpour, A. Houshyarrad, H. Kiyanfar and B. Bani Eqbal, “Nutrients Album,” Nutrition World Pub., Institute of Nutritional and Food Science, 2007.
[28]	S. R. Moore, “Energy Ef?ciency in Small-Scale Biointensive Organic Onion Production in Pennsylvania, USA,” Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, Vol. 25, No. 3, 2010, pp. 181-188. doi:10.1017/S1742170510000098
[29]	B. Tabar, A. Keyhani and S. Ra?ee, “Energy Balance in Iran’s Agronomy (1990-2006),” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Vol. 14, No. 2, 2010, pp. 849-855. doi:10.1016/j.rser.2009.10.024
[30]	I. Gezer, M. Acaroglu and H. Haciseferogullari, “Use of Energy and Labor in Apricot Agriculture in Turkey,” Biomass & Bioenergy, Vol. 24, No. 3, 2003, pp. 215-219. doi:10.1016/S0961-9534(02)00116-2
[31]	A. Charnes, W. W. Cooper and E. Rhodes, “Measuring the Efficiency of Decision Making Units,” European Journal of Operational Research, Vol. 2, No. 6, 1978, pp. 429-444. doi:10.1016/0377-2217(78)90138-8
[32]	R. D. Banker, A. Charnes and W. W. Cooper, “Some Models for Estimating Technical Scale Inefficiencies in Data Envelopment Analysis,” Management Science, Vol. 30, No. 9, 1984, pp. 107-192. doi:10.1287/mnsc.30.9.1078
[33]	S. M. Nassiri and S. Singh, “Study on Energy Use Efficiency for Paddy Crop Using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) Technique,” Applied Energy, Vol. 86, No. 7-8, 2009, pp. 1320-1325. doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2008.10.007
[34]	S. H. Mousavi-Avval, S. Ra?ee, A. Jafari and A. Mohammadi, “Improving Energy Use Ef?ciency of Canola Production Using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) Approach,” Energy, Vol. 36, No. 5, 2011, pp. 2765-2772. doi:10.1016/j.energy.2011.02.016
[35]	L. M. Cooper, L. M. Seiford and K. Tone, “Introduction to Data Envelopment Analysis and Its Uses,” Springer, New York, 2006.
[36]	N. Adler, L. Friedman and Z. Sinuany-Stern, “Review of Ranking Methods in the Data Envelopment Analysis Context,” European Journal of Operational Research, Vol. 140, No. 2, 2002, pp. 249-265. doi:10.1016/S0377-2217(02)00068-1
[37]	M. Omid, F. Ghojabeige, M. Delshad and H. Ahmadi, “Energy Use Pattern and Benchmarking of Selected Greenhouses in Iran Using Data Envelopment Analysis,” Energy Conversion and Management, Vol. 52, No. 1, 2011, pp. 153-162. doi:10.1016/j.enconman.2010.06.054
[38]	F. Ghojebeig, “A Decision Support System for Optimizing Energy Consumption in Vegetable Production Greenhouses,” M.S. Thesis, University of Tehran, Karaj, 2010.
[39]	N. Banaeian, M. Omid and H. Ahmadi, “Energy and Economic Analysis of Greenhouse Strawberry Production in Tehran Province of Iran,” Energy Conversion and Management, Vol. 52, No. 2, 2011, pp. 1020-1025. doi:10.1016/j.enconman.2010.08.030
[40]	S. H. Mousavi-Avval, S. Rafiee, A. Jafari and A. Mohammadi, “Optimization of Energy Consumption for Soybean Production Using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) Approach,” Applied Energy, Vol. 88, No. 11, 2011, pp. 3765-3772. doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2011.04.021