Energy efficiency of cacao agroforestry under traditional and organic management

Abstract

The industrialization of agriculture has led to lower efficiency and greater dependence on non-renewable energy. Organic agriculture and traditional agriculture are thus potential alternatives. Cacao is a major crop in Ecuador. However, information on the energy efficiency and economic performance of Ecuadorian cacao in relation to the production management system is rare and basically inexistent in the case of organic management. Therefore, we studied here the energy and economic performance of the cacao production in the province of Guayas, Ecuador. Four types of management were identified in the province: traditional, semi-intensive, technified, and organic. On the basis of primary data, input-output and energy efficiency were estimated, with special attention given to the use of non-renewable energy and the monetary profitability of each management system. The total energy inputs of the different forms of management have been estimated at 3.04 for traditional, 12.47 for semi-intensive, 24.53 for technified, and 9.77 GJ ha−1 for organic. Irrigation, fertilization, and crop protection are the most important inputs for all four types of management, ranging between 85.7 and 97.7 %. The non-renewable external energy return on the investment (EROI) has been estimated at 1:2.93 for traditional, 1:1.85 for semi-intensive, 1:1.47 for technified, and 1:3.07 for organic. The different forms of management earned a net margin of 484 for traditional, 1051 for semi-intensive, 2323 for technified, and $1565 ha−1 for organic. Our findings show that the intensification of cacao production increases the net margin per hectare in relation to traditional cacao production, while it significantly reduces its non-renewable external EROI. Well-managed organic farms allow improving non-renewable external EROI by comparison with technified or semi-intensive management strategies, and it also improves the economic performance in relation to semi-intensive systems.