Energy use and CO2 emissions of eggplant production in the Philippines

Abstract

The energy use and CO2 emissions of eggplant production in the Philippines were analyzed from data collected from 202 eggplant farmers randomly selected from the two major producing provinces of Pangasinan and Quezon, Philippines. Accordingly, the input and output energy of eggplant production were 77,342.09 MJ/ha and 233,905.50 MJ/ha, respectively. Diesel fuel and chemical fertilizer contributed the largest share of energy used in eggplant production. Most of the input energy was utilized in preharvest operations among which the application of fertilizer and water irrigation consumed the largest energy. The energy ratio and energy productivity were 3.02 and 0.51 kg/MJ, respectively. Direct and indirect forms of energy constituted 60.93% and 39.07%, respectively, of the total energy consumption while the share of non-renewable and renewable forms of energy was 80.42% and 19.58%, respectively. The total GHGs of eggplant production was 5,843.35 kg CO2eq/ha. Overall the production system considered that diesel, plastic bags and chemical fertilizers were the largest contributors to GHGs emission in eggplant production with 41.55%, 39.01% and 17.15% contribution, respectively. The total amount of carbon generated by applying agricultural inputs was 1,593.64 kgC/ha while the carbon produced from the yield of eggplant was 17,840.25 kgC/ha. The carbon ratio (sustainability index) in the production of eggplant was 11.18. Generally, the production of eggplant in the Philippines is a carbon neutral process because it does not emit carbon to the environment beyond the carbon output generated. Eggplant can be used for carbon sequestration because it exceeded by 11 times the input carbon emitted in the production process. The use of renewable sources of inputs such as organic fertilizers, biological pest control, biological mulching materials and bioplastics as packaging materials among others, can lead to lower GHG emission, more sustainable and environment-friendly eggplant production system.