Efficiency and Sustainability of Silage Corn Production by Data Envelopment Analysis and Multi-Functional Ecological Footprint: Evidence from Sarayan County, Iran

Abstract

The Ecological Footprint (EF) is used to understand the relationship between human activities and pressure on land and its resources. The present study combined multi-functional ecological footprint with Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to estimate environmental impacts of inefficient use of resources of silage corn production in the Sarayan County, Iran. In this applied survey research, data were collected using a questionnaire accompanied by face-to-face interviews with 42 farmers (N= 48). Validity of the instrument was approved by a panel of experts; while its reliability was secured via pretest-posttest method. Results showed that mean technical efficiency, pure technical efficiency and scale efficiency were 0.86, 0.93, and 0.80; respectively. The CO2 footprints were 0.95 and 0.83 gha under current and optimum conditions; respectively, with electricity and manure comprising the highest and lowest shares. The Ecological footprint land- (gha gha-1 farm), yield- (gha ton-1) and revenue-based (gha $-1 1,000) EFs were estimated to be 1.6, 0.84, and 1.4 under current conditions but 1.57, 0.081, and 1.33 under optimum conditions, respectively. When the resources were used efficiently, the EFCO2 and EF improved by 13.42 and 3.35% respectively, in which the highest shares in terms of quantity and percentage belonged to electricity, manure and fertilizer. Findings implied that optimum usage of electricity and fertilizer could play a significant role in mitigating environmental impacts of silage corn production in Sarayan. Local agricultural extension should focus on introduction of innovative irrigation systems to reduce water, electricity and fertilizer consumption. Meanwhile, to improve silage corn efficiency, farm size expansion is recommended based on the DEA findings. Keywords: Ecological footprint, Efficiency, Silage corn, Sustainability