Energy Inputs in Food Crop Production in Developing and Developed Nations

Pimentel, David

doi:10.3390/en20100001

Cited by 117 publications

(82 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…An important trade-off between extensive and intensive system is the energy use including not only fuel for machinery but also yield related inputs, such as fertilizers, irrigation, and pesticides [9]. Pimentel shows that the energy use for intensive systems is two times higher than the energy use for extensive systems [9]. Pimentel calculates the energy input related with all agricultural inputs for several systems [9].…”

Section: Our Results In Perspectivementioning

confidence: 99%

How Much Time Does a Farmer Spend to Produce My food? An International Comparison of the Impact of Diets and Mechanization

2016

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Abstract:Work is one of the main inputs in agriculture. It can be performed by humans, animals, or machinery. Studies have shown strong differences throughout the world in labour required to produce a kilogram of food. We complement this line of research by linking these data to food consumption patterns, which are also strongly different throughout the world. We calculate the hours of farm labour required to produce a person's annual food consumption for four scenarios. These scenarios are comprised of two extreme cases for production systems and diets, respectively, that illustrate prevailing global differences. Our results show that the farm labour requirements differ by a factor of about 200 among production systems, and by a factor of about two among consumption patterns. The gain in farm labour efficiency with mechanization is enormous: only 2-5 hours of farm labour are needed to produce the food consumed by a person in a year. This value is much lower than the time an average person spends on buying food, cooking, or eating.

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Section: Our Results In Perspectivementioning

confidence: 99%

How Much Time Does a Farmer Spend to Produce My food? An International Comparison of the Impact of Diets and Mechanization

2016

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“…New technologies have been applied, and high levels of energy input have become characteristic for production. The use of energy in multiple farming systems and for different crops has been debated (Cox and Atkins 1979;Cleveland 1995;Ramade 2005;Gliessman 2006;Pimentel 2009;Sheaffer and Moncada 2009); larger energy inputs are not always coupled to higher energy efficiency. Moreover, a shift towards the production of feed and biofuels instead of food has been observed, despite their less favorable energy balance and environmental issues (Pimentel 2003;Pimentel and Patzek 2005;Gliessman 2006;Groom et al 2008;Pimentel et al 2009).…”

Section: Historical Perspective On Anthropogenic Effects In Landscapesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anthropogenic Effects in Landscapes: Historical Context and Spatial Pattern

Bogaert

Vranken

André

2014

Biocultural Landscapes

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Bio-cultural landscapes are characterized by anthropogenic pattern features, of which the measurement constitutes a key step in landscape analysis. Metrics and strategies for this measurement of anthropogenic patterns and their dynamics are discussed, considering the pattern/process paradigm, the patchcorridor-matrix model and the complementarity of landscape composition and configuration as conceptual benchmarks. Historically, noticeable anthropogenic effects are accepted to have appeared in landscapes after the invention of agriculture and further trends of landscape change could be linked to the development of agriculture. Through time, a sequence of landscape dynamics with three stages is expected, in which a natural landscape matrix is initially substituted by an agricultural one; urban patch types will later on dominate the matrix as a consequence of ongoing urbanization. The importance of the development of agriculture and its productivity for the evolution of settlements, villages and cities is emphasized. Anthropogenic change of landscapes confirms the status of geographical space as a limited resource.

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“…The input use and farm implement requirements were obtained from field surveys of 160 Burkina Faso cotton producers conducted in 2009. The energy use for the crop inputs was obtained from various published sources to provide approximations to energy requirements [75][76][77].…”

Section: Energy Savingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhancing Sustainability of Cotton Production Systems in West Africa: A Summary of Empirical Evidence from Burkina Faso

2011

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Africa has been hesitant to adopt agricultural biotechnology, lagging behind global trends over the past decade. One exception is Burkina Faso, a West African country that commercially released 125,000 ha of Bt cotton in 2009. Bt cotton may serve as a working example of how African countries can enhance sustainability using modern, science-driven technology to increase production levels while reducing input use and energy consumption. This paper reports the potential impact that Bt cotton can have on sustainability in Burkina Faso's cotton sector based by summarizing empirical evidence from previously published studies. Based on the summary of published data collected from six years of field trials and producer surveys, Bt cotton increased cotton yields by an average of 21.3% and raised income by $106.14 per ha. Using an energy balance model, the introduction of Bt cotton would also result in a 6.6% saving in energy use. The significant increase in productivity and economic returns could be the catalyst for Burkina Faso, and other African countries, to emerge from the decade or so of stagnation and regain their competitive stance in world cotton markets while providing environmental and social benefits.

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Energy Inputs in Food Crop Production in Developing and Developed Nations

Abstract: Detailed energy outputs and inputs were assessed for the following crops, cultured in the U.S. and developing countries: corn, wheat, rice, soy, potato, cassava, tomato, citrus and apple. In addition, the labor input for each crop was analyzed.

Cited by 117 publications

References 21 publications

How Much Time Does a Farmer Spend to Produce My food? An International Comparison of the Impact of Diets and Mechanization

How Much Time Does a Farmer Spend to Produce My food? An International Comparison of the Impact of Diets and Mechanization

Anthropogenic Effects in Landscapes: Historical Context and Spatial Pattern

Enhancing Sustainability of Cotton Production Systems in West Africa: A Summary of Empirical Evidence from Burkina Faso

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