Effect of Farm Size on Energy Consumption and Input Costs of Peanut Production in Guilan Province of Iran

In this study, the energy and economic analysis of peanut production in Guilan province of Iran was studied. Data were collected from questionnaires of 75 farmers. The data were collected from three farm size categories namely: 0.1–0.5 ha, 0.5-1 ha and larger than 1 ha. The results revealed that 19407.36 MJ ha-1 energy input was totally consumed. The highest share of energy consumption belonged to diesel fuel (50.05%) followed by chemical fertilizers (19.14%). The mean difference of energy inputs including machinery, diesel fuel and electricity among different sizes of farms was significant at the 5% level. The average energy efficiency in different farm size categories including less than 0.5 ha, 0.5-1 ha and more than 1 ha were 3.67, 4.02 and 4.12, respectively. The energy productivity of these sizes was calculated as 0.155, 0.169 and 0.174 kg MJ-1, respectively. The Cobb-Douglas model results showed that the effects of inputs including human labor, machinery, chemical fertilizers and electricity on the yield were positive, while the effect of inputs including seed, diesel fuel and chemicals on peanut yield were negative. The benefit-cost ratio was calculated as 1.82. Farmers with a farm larger than 1 ha used the least amount of energy and input costs.