| Author | Adhikari, Umesh |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.AE-09-02 |
| Subject(s) | Agricultural systems--Nepal--Morang District
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| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering in Agricultural Systems and Engineering, School of Environment, Resources and Development |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Thesis ; no. AE-09-02 |
| Abstract | This study was conducted to assess the potential of sustainable farming system based on farm level energy generation which consisted of personal interviews of 148 farmers and 11 village mill owners in Sijuwa Village Development Committee (VDC), Morang District, Nepal. The farmers were categorized into three groups as small (less than 0.5 ha), medium (0.5 to 1 ha) and large (above I ha) farmers based on the size ofland holdings. He-buffalos and bullocks were the major farm power sources; about 85% of the total farmers own either of them. About 70% of the total farmers own either pump set or electric motor for irrigation. The energy estimates were conducted and compared under two scenarios; existing and improved mechanization projected based on the replacement of animal draft power by mechanical equipments and increasing the cropping intensity to 300%. Annual diesel consumption by small, medium and large farmers for major crop cultivation was found to be 44.8,85.8 and 141.8 lit, respectively, while under the projected level of mechanized scenario, the estimated annual diesel consumption by the same farmer groups for the major crops cultivation were 212.8, 221.8 and 344.5 lit, respectively. Total available residue in the village was estimated to be 5582 ton with a potential of producing 94.4 TJ of energy. A total of 11 mills were located in the village, providing rice milling, wheat milling, oil extraction, beaten rice producing and spice milling facilities which consumed an average of 772 kWh of electricity monthly. Sustainable energy approaches were also recommended. To replace 20% of the energy needs with Jatropha oil under present level of mechanization, 14,26 and 43 Jatropha plants would be necessary respectively in small, medium and large farms, while under the projected level of mechanization, it would be 65, 68 and 105 Jatropha plants, respectively. To provide the villagers with sustainable cooking fuel source, agricultural residue briquetting plant(s) with overall capacity of 986 kg/hr would be necessary. As the village mills are facing problem with inadequate power supply, biomass-gasification based power plant of about 50 kW would be needed to provide them with a reliable energy source. The agricultural residue based energy production potential of the village is enough to meet the energy requirement of the household cooking and agro-processing energy needs. Briquetting and gasification of the agricultural residues should be practiced instead of direct use or burning. Energy balance matrix revealed that a 50 kW biomass gasification based electric plant and briquetting rest of the residues is the best residues management practice at present scenario. |
| Year | 2009 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Thesis ; no. AE-09-02 |
| Type | Thesis |
| 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) | Jayasuriya, H.P.W. |
| Examination Committee(s) | Salokhe, Vilas M.;Kumar, S.;Soni Peeyush |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Norway |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Eng.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2009 |