Energy Use and Economic Analysis of Fertilizer Use in Wheat and Sugar Beet Production in Serbia

Aleksandra Dimitrijević,Marija Gavrilović,Sanjin Ivanović,Rajko Miodragović,Zoran Mileusnić,Saša Todorović

doi:10.3390/en13092361

Abstract

Increased demand for food production, influenced by the constant growth of population, resulted in the agricultural production systems that are more energy and economy intensive. The aim of this study was to evaluate the energetic and economic efficiency of sugar beet and wheat production. Attention was given to the fertilizer usage and its share in energy consumption since it can amount to 50%. Data show that energy input in wheat production was 5.84 MJ·kg−1 and in sugar beet it was 0.93 MJ·kg−1. The highest share of energy input both in wheat and sugar beet was observed for fertilizers, 52.45% and 46.70%, respectively. Economic analysis has shown that wheat production is a low profitable production with a net return of only 20.69 USD·ha−1, in comparison with sugar beet production with a net return of 513.53 USD·ha−1. Costs related to the fertilizer use prevailed in total variable and total production costs. Economic analysis has also shown that the benefit-to-cost ratio was higher in sugar beet production (1.33) compared to wheat production (1.03). Furthermore, it was determined that these economic indicators were less sensitive in sugar beet production than in wheat production regarding the variation of fertilizer.

Highlights

Production of sufficient quantities of food and industrial raw materials, both for the existing population and for generations to come, is one of the most important tasks of the society [1].the development of agriculture, its sustainability, and continuous improvement are crucial for humanity [2,3]
The most important crops produced in this region are maize, wheat, sunflower, soybean, and sugar beet [4]
Crop production is carried out on plots that comprise the soil types of Humic Gleysols and aluvijum Dystric Fluvisols soil. This property was selected as a representative one since it is on the type of soil that is most common type of soil in Vojvodina region that is the largest agricultural production region in Serbia where most of the wheat and sugar beet are produced

Summary

Introduction

Production of sufficient quantities of food and industrial raw materials, both for the existing population and for generations to come, is one of the most important tasks of the society [1]. The development of agriculture, its sustainability, and continuous improvement are crucial for humanity [2,3]. Agriculture is one of the most important sectors in the Serbian economy and it is one of the largest job providers. The most important crops produced in this region are maize, wheat, sunflower, soybean, and sugar beet [4]. Sugar beet products are used for human and livestock nutrition and for industrial needs. Sugar beet is mainly used for sugar production as 25% of the world’s sugar production comes from sugar beet [5]

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