Energy analysis and greenhouse gas emission in broiler farms: A case study in Alborz province, Iran

Abstract

The goal of this study was to examine the energy flows for poultry breeding in broiler production farms in Alborz province of Iran. Data were obtained randomly from 30 poultry production farms using a face to face questionnaire method. The results indicated that the total input energy was 189805.48 MJ per 1000 birds, while the output energy was 28151.17 MJ/(1000 bird). Net energy was negative, -161654.31 MJ/(1000 bird), implying that energy had been lost. Energy use efficiency was calculated as 0.15, showing the inefficient use of energy in the broiler production farms. The fuel energy (energy content of the fuel) with a share of 58.35% had the highest share of input energy and the feed energy by 29.71% was the next. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emission of the studied farms was 10267.96 kg CO₂-eq/(1000 bird). Among different inputs, feed with 48% had the highest share of GHG emissions. Cobb-Douglas frontier production function was adopted to specify the production technology of the farms. Econometric model evaluation showed that the effects of diesel fuel and feed on output energy was significant at 1% level. The marginal physical productivity (MPP) values of energy inputs based on sensitivity analysis were 0.04 and 0.51 for diesel fuel and feed, respectively. The variability results between poultry farms showed that the most variability comes from fuel consumption.