Sustainable and efficient energy consumption of corn production in Southwest Iran: Combination of multi-fuzzy and DEA modeling

The goal of this study was to evaluate the sustainability and efficiency of corn production with regard to energy consumption in the Fars province, Southwest Iran. To reach the goal, fuzzy modeling and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) were employed. The fuzzy model included three sub-models which assessed the sustainability use of energy inputs, i.e. machinery, fuel, fertilizer, chemical, human power, seed, and electricity. Some DEA models like CCR (Charnes, Cooper and Rhodes), BCC (Banker, Charnes and Cooper) and SBM (Slack Based Measure) were applied in assessment of efficiency scores. Using non-hierarchical cluster analysis, 89 farmers were chosen in two clusters including 47 and 42 farmers as the first and second cluster, respectively. The farmers in cluster 2 used 44,238.235 MJ/ha energy input which was 2500 MJ/ha more than the first cluster. The fuzzy modeling revealed that the sustainability indices were higher in the first cluster. However, the indices were in the ranges of very low to medium for all the farmers, representing that the current corn production system is not sustainable. Also, the DEA models revealed that the first cluster also held more efficient farmers. Since DEA defines a reference set of efficient for inefficient farmers to follow, lead inefficient farmers to improve their sustainability up to efficient ones. Therefore, efficient and inefficient farmers must change the trends of energy utilization for approaching even more sustainable production. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.