Evaluation of Energy Efficiency, Emission of Greenhouse Gases and Production Function in Olive (Olea europaea) Production in Ilam Province, Iran

Sustainable crop production in any region is subject to the production energy flow. Paying attention to the inputs and outputs in the production system regarding environmental management is important. In this study, energy consumption in olive production as well as the greenhouse gas emissions in Ilam province, were investigated in 2019. The survey was conducted on a population of 195 olive farmers. The information was collected using a face-to-face interview utilizing a questionnaire. Results have shown that the total input energy for olive production was 15107.17 MJ.ha-1, while the total output was 34389.7 MJ.ha-1, making the energy efficiency and energy productivity 2.28 and 0.19 kg MJ-1 respectively. Electricity (37.04%) and nitrogen fertilizer (27.74%) are the highest sources of energy intended for olive production in Ilam. The result from the Cobb-Douglas function has revealed that olive production in Ilam province is significantly affected by electricity, irrigation and workforce with 0.45, 0.27 and 0.13 regression coefficients respectively. The total emissions of greenhouse gases were equivalent to 1 kg of carbon dioxide per hectare. Electricity was found the most greenhouse-gas emitting agent (80.1%). Non-renewable energy was applied more than renewable energy. In Ilam province, the reduction of non-renewable energy allows for increase of energy efficiency; however, this requires appropriate mechanization methods to produce olives.