| Author | Ahmed, Qurban |
| Call Number | AIT Diss. no.AE-94-01 |
| Subject(s) | Agriculture and energy--Pakistan
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| Note | A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for degree of Doctor of Engineering, School of Environment, Resources and Development |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Dissertation ; no. AE-94-01 |
| Abstract | The main objective of this study was to develop information on patterns of use of energy inputs from various sources and on the relationships between these inputs and outputs. A year-Long survey was made of daily inputs of energy to 534 crop plots representing the holdings of 22 farmers of nine villages in faisalabad District of Punjab, Pakistan, These farmers were representative of two main farm categories, i.e., bullock-operated farms and tractor-operated farms. Bullock-operated farms were sub-categorized into farms using mostly canal irrigation B(C) and farms using tube well water to supplement insufficient canal water B(C&W). Similarly, tractor-operated farms were sub-categorized into farms using mostly canal irrigation T(C) and farms using tube well water to supplement insufficient canal water T(C&W). Each of the selected farmers was visited once every two weeks for data collection. Sources of energy recorded were human labor (family, permanently hired and casually hired labor), bullocks, diesel engines and tractors. Crop yields, input of chemicals, inorganic fertilizers and farm yard manure, energy source types (whether source was owned or hired and values of these items were recorded. Energy inputs were computed by summing the energy inputs to all crop plots on a weekly and an annual basis for total holdings and per hectare. Per hectare average annual energy used by the tractor-operated farms was higher than that used by the bullock-operated farms. The bullock-operated farms made higher use of permanent labor and bullocks as compared to tractor-operated farms. Bullock-operated farms having irrigation pump T(C&W) used more energy on their farms than those without irrigation pumps. Bullock and tractor-operated farms without irrigation pumps could not use high doses of fertilizers due to the limitations of the available canal water. Farmers having their own irrigation pumps used high doses of fertilizers and got higher yields. There were two peak periods of energy inputs on all farms, one during months of April and May (mainly harvesting and threshing of wheat crop) and the other during the months of October and November (land preparation and sowing of winter crops mainly wheat and harvesting of monsoon crops). The labor requirement during harvesting period of wheat was very high on all farms. The cropping intensity of the surveyed farms ranged from 167 to 211 percent considering the sugarcane equivalent to two season crop. The percentage of cropped area for fodder crops on tractor farms was 27 percent compared to 42 percent on bullock farms. Per hectare energy used in growing various crops was higher on farms using tube well water to supplement insufficient canal water compared to those without tubewells. The energy output/input rations on the basis of main product, varied between 2.6 to 26.9 i.e., for every MJ fed into the agricultural production system, 2.6 to 26.9 MJ were regenerated by the system. Based on multiple linear regression analysis, irrigation water and then fertilizer were more productive factors contributing to higher crop yields. Based on simple regression analysis, crop yield were significantly correlated by power function to the pre-harvest energy inputs. Fertilizer was found to be an comparatively more effective input to get higher yields in wheat and maize crops while irrigation water contributed most to higher sugarcane yields. The overall gross margins and returns to family labor of tractor-operated farms were higher than those of bullock-operated farms. The gross margins for tractor farms using irrigation pumps were higher than those without. Similarly, the gross margins of bullock farms using diesel engines for irrigation pumps were higher than those without. Three scenarios were developed on the basis of suitability of ground water for irrigation to project future scenarios for mechanization. Scenario 1 is based on shifting 30% of the upgradable area of B(C) farms to T(C) and T(C&W) farms, shifting 30% area of B(C&W) farms to T(C&W) farms, shifting 30% of the upgradable area to T(C) farms to T(C&W) farms and keeping the area of T(C&W) farms under TT(C&W) farms. Scenarios 2 and 3 are based on shifting 60% and 100% of the upgradable areas, respectively. Projections indicate that progress towards mechanization for farmers in Faisalabad District should lead to increased employment of human labor over the 1992 level under all the three scenarios. The use of inanimate energy resources would allow the application of large amounts of energy input at appropriate times resulting in increased total crop production with reductions in the coats of production. Production increases are the result of increased yields, increased intensity of cropping and fodder production area being released for other crops. The supply of inanimate energy to agriculture as well as the development of equipment for its efficient application should receive high priority in development plans. |
| Year | 1994 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Dissertation ; no. AE-94-01 |
| Type | Dissertation |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources (Former title: Department of Food Agriculture, and BioResources (DFAB)) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Agricultural and Food Engineering (AE) |
| Chairperson(s) | Singh, Gajendra; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Clough, D. Gee;Weber, K. E;Gupta, C. P.;Salokhe, V. M.; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | United States Agency for International Development,; |
| Degree | Thesis (Ph.D.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 1994 |