Energy For Production Agriculture

Study with reference to Punjab.

This last volume of the Energy in World Agriculture series is in many ways the series' Alpha and its Omega. It addresses the broad issues related to the use of energy in agricultural production, and also characterizes and quantifies the energy involvements of many agricultural production technologies. It is a compilation of descriptive and analytical information and design principles and data of energy use in this field. A significant aspect is the relationship between energy and agricultural productivity, increased knowledge and resulting improved management of energy-consuming operations on the farm. Information provided here has not been published elsewhere before. Throughout the book are examples of the important role that energy inputs have played in increasing productivity of the world's agricultural systems. Together with a revived interest in energy for agricultural production due to increases in energy costs, this volume meets that interest with valuable information and insights.

The aim of this volume is to collect and present available data, both published and unpublished, on energy use in agriculture and forestry production. Energy analyses for some sciences such as ecology are not new, but their applications to agriculture started in 1973. These analyses have grown rapidly in number and complexity. This handbook is intended for agriculturalists and others concerned with energy use in crop, livestock, and forestry production.

Fundamentals of energy and agriculture, Energy in nonindustrial food and production systems, Energy use in industrialized food production, Agricultural energy analysis, Energy and economics, Energy requirements for agricultural inputs, Evaluation of alternatives, Evaluation of specific practices, New sources of energy, The future.

Agriculture and Energy consists of the proceedings of a conference held at Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, on June 17-19, 1976. The conference aims to bring together a broad spectrum of researchers concerned with obtaining a better understanding of the energy consumption by agriculture. These researchers are also concerned with developing ways to help food production adapt to occurring and anticipated resource availability problems. This book is organized into nine parts, separating the papers of the conference as chapters. It describes the quantity of energy consumed in particular production processes or in production at various levels of aggregation in the field of agriculture. It also dwells into the economic impacts of energy problems on agricultural production. It looks into the comparative economic and energy costs of the various methods for producing a specific product. Furthermore, this reference material discusses unconventional production methods that can reduce the need for fossil energy inputs by using renewable energy sources or recycling materials. Lastly, the implications of the energy situation for agricultural policy, both in the U.S. and in developing countries, are shown.

The agri-food chain consumes about one third of the world’s energy production with about 12% of it for crop production and nearly 80% for processing, distribution, retail, preparation and cooking. The agri-food chain also accounts for 80-90% of total global freshwater use where 70% alone is for irrigation. Additionally, on a global scale, freshwater production consumes nearly 15% of the entire energy production. It can therefore be argued that making agriculture and the agri-food supply chain independent from fossil fuel use has a huge potential to contribute to global food security and climate protection not only for the next decades but also for the coming century. Provision of secure, accessible and environmentally sustainable supplies of water, energy and food must thus be a priority. One of the major objectives of the world’s scientists, farmers, decisions makers and industrialists is to overcome the present dependence on fossil fuels in the agro-food sector. This dependency increases the volatility of food prices and affects economic access to sustenance. This book provides a critical review of recent developments in solar, wind and geothermal energy applications in agriculture and the agro-food sector such as processing, distribution, retail, preparation and cooking.