Sugarcane is one of the important irrigated crops in Ethiopia and its production is highly
linked with its energy and water use. In this paper, identifications and
quantifications of input and output, direct and indirect energy sources, and
energy use of farm operations were carried out on 11 irrigation schemes of
Awash River Basin. In order to grow 91.8 to 167.6 tons of cane, 47.9 to 143.4
GJ/ha of total energy was used. Average total input energies of gravity, pump surface and
sprinkler scheme categories to grow 109.8, 112.7 and 136.3 ton/ha were 53.6,
68.9 and 129.2 GJ/ha, respectively. Around 90% and 74% total energies of
gravity surface and sprinkler schemes were consumed as direct and indirect
energies, respectively. Irrigation found to be the most energy consuming
operation constituting more than 50% input energy of all scheme categories.
Energy efficiency of gravity schemes was 152% and 300% higher than pump driven
surface and sprinkler schemes. Energy sequestrated in cane straws burned during
harvesting found to be higher than fertilizer and pumping energy demands. Use
of cane straws as manure and energy sources have the potential to substitute
demands which in turn needs further investigations and analysis.
References
[1]
Alam, M.S., Alam, M.R. and Islam, K.K. (2005) Energy Flow in Agriculture: Bangladesh. American Journal of Environmental Sciences, 1, 213-220. https://doi.org/10.3844/ajessp.2005.213.220
[2]
Kitani, O. (1999) CIGR Handbook of Agricultural Engineering, Volume V: Energy and Biomass Engineering. American Society of Agricultural Engineers, St. Joseph, Michigan, 13.
[3]
Singh, S. and Mittal, J.P. (1992) Energy in Production Agriculture. Mittal Publications, New Delhi.
[4]
Khan, S. and Hanjra, M.A. (2008) Footprints of Water and Energy Inputs in Food Production—Global Perspectives. Food Policy, 34, 130-140.
[5]
Rodríguez Díaz, J.A., Camacho Poyato, E. and Blanco Pérez, M. (2011) Evaluation of Water and Energy Use in Pressurized Irrigation Networks in Southern Spain. Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering, 137, 644-650. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)IR.1943-4774.0000338
[6]
Eyre, D.N. and Alexandra, J. (2014) The Water and Energy Nexus: A Multi-Factor Productivity Challenge. NSW Farmers Association, Greenwich, NSW.
[7]
Welsh, J.M. and Powell, J.W. (2017) Opportunities for Energy Innovation in Australian Irrigated Sugarcane. Ag Econ, Sugar Research Australia Report, Burren Junction, NSW.
[8]
Kedir, Y., Berhanu, B. and Alamirew, T. (2021) Comparative Efficiency Analysis of Irrigation Scheme Categories of Awash River Basin, Ethiopia. Journal of Resources Development and Management, 79, 21-35.
[9]
PDC (2021) Ten Years Development Plan: A Pathway to Prosperity 2021-2030. Planning and Development Commission of Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa.
[10]
Kedir, Y. (2021) The Stumbling Irrigation Sector of Ethiopia: Critical Review and Analysis. Irrigation & Drainage Systems Engineering, 10, Article No. 32021.
[11]
Safa, M. (2011) Determination and Modelling of Energy Consumption in Wheat Production Using Neural Networks: “A Case Study in Canterbury Province, New Zealand”. Energy, 36, 5140-5147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2011.06.016
[12]
Conforti, P. and Giampietro, M. (1997) Fossil Energy Use in Agriculture: An International Comparison. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 65, 231-243. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-8809(97)00048-0
[13]
Barbosa, B.D.S., Colombo, A., de Souza, J.G.N., da Silva Baptista, V.B. and de Araújo, A.C.S. (2018) Energy Efficiency of a Center Pivot Irrigation System. Engenharia Agrícola, 38, 284-292. https://doi.org/10.1590/1809-4430-eng.agric.v38n2p284-292/2018
[14]
Sartori, L., Basso, B., Bertocco, M. and Oliviero, G. (2005) Energy Use and Economic Evaluation of a Three Year Crop Rotation for Conservation and Organic Farming in NE Italy. Biosystems Engineering, 91, 245-256. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biosystemseng.2005.03.010
[15]
Stout, B.A. (1990) Handbook of Energy for World Agriculture. Elsevier, Applied Science, London and New York.
[16]
Liu, J. (2009) A GIS-Based Tool for Modeling Large-Scale Crop-Water Relations. Environmental Modeling & Software, 24, 411-422. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2008.08.004
[17]
Fluck, R.C. (1992) Energy Analysis in Agricultural Systems. In: Fluck, R.C., Ed., Energy in Farm Production, Elsevier Science, Amsterdam, 45-52. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-444-88681-1.50010-7
[18]
Jackson, T. (2009) An Appraisal of the On-Farm Water and Energy Nexus in Irrigated Agriculture. Ph.D. Thesis, Charles Sturt University, Bathurst.
[19]
Chamsing, A., Salokhe, V. and Singh, G. (2006) Energy Consumption Analysis for Selected Crops in Different Regions of Thailand. Agricultural Engineering International: The CIGR E-Journal, 8, 1-18.
[20]
Karimi, M., Rajabi Pour, A., Tabatabaeefar, A. and Borghei, A. (2008) Energy Analysis of Sugarcane Production in Plant Farms: A Case Study in Debel Khazai Agro-Industry in Iran. American-Eurasian Journal of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences, 4, 165-171.
[21]
Coombs, J. (1984) Sugarcane as an Energy Crop. Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering Reviews, 1, 311-346. https://doi.org/10.1080/02648725.1984.10647789
[22]
Smerdon, E.T. and Hiler, E.A. (1985) Energy in Irrigation in Developing Countries. Proceeding of the International Conference on Water and Energy Policy in World Food Supplies, Texas A & M University, USA, 26-30 May 1985.
[23]
Mendoza, T.C. and Samson, R. (2002) Energy Costs of Sugar Production in the Philippine Context. Philippine Journal of Crop Science, 27, 17-26.
[24]
Wasihun, G.H., Silalertruksa, T., Gheewala, S.H. and Jakrawatana, N. (2019) Water-Energy-Food Nexus of Sugarcane Production in Ethiopia. Environmental Engineering Science, 36, 798-807. https://doi.org/10.1089/ees.2018.0549
[25]
AwBA (2018) Awash River Basin Atlas. Awash River Basin Authority (AwBA), Addis Ababa.
[26]
Yibeltal, T. (2013) Awash River Basin Water Audit: Synthesis Report. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa.
[27]
AAiT and AwBA (2016) Awash River Basin Water Allocation Modeling and Conflict Resolution Study Project. Draft Final Report: WP3 Water Demand. Addis Ababa Institute of Technology (AAiT) and Awash Basin Authority (AwBA), Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa.
[28]
Gundogmus, E. (2006) Energy Use on Organic Farming: A Comparative Analysis on Organic versus Conventional Apricot Production on Small Holdings in Turkey. Energy Conversation Management, 47, 3351-3359. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2006.01.001
[29]
Yavuz, D., Topaz, R. and Yavuz, N. (2014) Determining Energy Consumption of Sprinkler Irrigation for Different Crops in Konya Plain. Turkish Journal of Agricultural and Natural Sciences, 1, 312-321.
[30]
Sadeghi, S.H., Moghadam, E.S., Delavar, M. and Zarghami, M. (2020) Application of Water-Energy-Food Nexus Approach for Designating Optimal Agricultural Management Pattern at a Watershed Scale. Agricultural Water Management, 233, Article ID: 106071. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2020.106071
[31]
Zahedi, M., Mondani, F. and Reza, H. (2015) Analyzing the Energy Balances of Double Cropped Cereals in an Arid Region. Energy Reports, 1, 43-49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egyr.2014.11.001
[32]
Wakil, M. Umar, S.S., Abubakar, I. and Zubairu, M. (2018) Energy-Use Efficiency of Rice Production under Irrigation in Jere Bowl Borno State, Nigeria. American Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics, 3, 6-11. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajere.20180301.12
[33]
Vergara, J.C., Rojas, G. and Ortegon, K. (2020) Sugarcane Straw Recovery for Bioenergy Generation: Case of an Organic Farm in Colombia. ACS Omega, 5, 7950-7955. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.9b04340
[34]
Hadi, S.H. (2006) Energy Efficiency and Ecological Sustainability in Conventional and Integrated Potato Production System. Proceeding of the IASTED Conference on Advanced Technology in the Environmental Field, Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain, 6-8 February 2006.
