Corn Production and Processing into Ethanol in Turkey: An Analysis of the Performance of Irrigation Systems at Different Altitudes on Energy Use and Production Costs

Abstract

This research aims to assess the energy input and output involved in corn production in the Elazig province of Turkey in different agricultural systems. This study is interested in energy resource allocation to analyze maize production systems since the value of production inputs and outputs is affected by economic crises as well as the country's politico-economic status. The amounts of energy used for production are still very challenging to change. The typical energy usage of the farms examined in this study is 3359,82 MJda � 1, 3715,74 MJda � 1, 5366,13 MJda-1 and 6456,24 MJda � 1 according to the distance between the water sources and the farms. Of the total mean of energy, 31.06% is direct, 12, 26% is indirect, 14,38% in renewable energy and 42,30% in nonrenewable energy. A kilogram of typical maize is thought to require 3,93 MJ of energy in total to produce. Energy used for irrigation makes up most of the input (37.20%), followed by sowing (22.57%) and fertilizer (16.65%). As a result of the benefit-cost ratio analysis is 0.29, the cost of corn production per decare is found to be $112.05/da in the area, with variable costs accounting for 83.17% of the total. The analysis of data reveals that the transformation of 100 kg of corn generates an energy expenditure of 2219.58 MJ and more than 50% of energy expenditure comes from the use of machines.