Economic efficient use of soilless techniques to maximize benefits for farmers
The main challenge of the agricultural sector is the increasing pressure on natural resources, mainly water and arable land. Consequently, an urgent imperative arises to explore technological advancements that can boost food production in alignment with the growing demands. The Soilless Production S...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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AIMS Press
2023-11-01
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| Series: | AIMS Agriculture and Food |
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| Online Access: | https://www.aimspress.com/article/doi/10.3934/agrfood.2023056?viewType=HTML |
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| author | Mohamamd I. Majdalawi Ansam A. Ghanayem Amani A. Alassaf Sabine Schlüter Mohammed A. Tabieh Amer Z. Salman Muhanad W. Akash Rui C. Pedroso |
| author_facet | Mohamamd I. Majdalawi Ansam A. Ghanayem Amani A. Alassaf Sabine Schlüter Mohammed A. Tabieh Amer Z. Salman Muhanad W. Akash Rui C. Pedroso |
| author_sort | Mohamamd I. Majdalawi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The main challenge of the agricultural sector is the increasing pressure on natural resources, mainly water and arable land. Consequently, an urgent imperative arises to explore technological advancements that can boost food production in alignment with the growing demands. The Soilless Production System (SPS) emerges as a proficient approach for managing irrigation water, thereby making a significant contribution to food security. This research focuses on the efficient use of SPS and identifies the best economic use of the soilless techniques for different crops within an area characterized by limited land and water availability. The database for the study was generated through a farm survey to investigate the benefits of adopting SPSs as a sustainable agricultural practice. A linear programming approach was applied to develop an optimization model for resource allocation and crop mix selection, considering the development opportunities through the SPSs. Different scenarios were applied in the model. The results proved that adopting SPSs is a sustainable irrigation practice, since the technique promotes water use efficiency, generates profitability, and conserves the associated natural resources. The SPSs ensure sustainable use of water resources by increasing water use efficiency. The hydroponics cultivation system had 11 ± 1.7 times higher yields but required 82 ± 11 times more energy in comparison to the lettuce crop produced by the conventional production system (CPS). The result of the optimal solution shows that the total revenue of scenarios of the study is 109% of the revenue of the original value of the largest farmer. The water resources and the investment cost as constraints in the model are totally used, but the operational costs in the optimal solutions are 74% of the total operational cost in the original data. The optimal solution showed the importance of using computerized systems in which the control of the fertigation is better. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T17:20:41Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4a413f814a224af59110cf6e48a32a7b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2471-2086 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T17:20:41Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | AIMS Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | AIMS Agriculture and Food |
| spelling | doaj.art-4a413f814a224af59110cf6e48a32a7b2024-01-03T06:18:47ZengAIMS PressAIMS Agriculture and Food2471-20862023-11-01841038105110.3934/agrfood.2023056Economic efficient use of soilless techniques to maximize benefits for farmersMohamamd I. Majdalawi0Ansam A. Ghanayem1Amani A. Alassaf 2Sabine Schlüter 3Mohammed A. Tabieh4Amer Z. Salman 5Muhanad W. Akash6Rui C. Pedroso71. Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, School of Agriculture, The University of Jordan, P.O. Box 13899, Amman 11942, Jordan2. Independent researcher, ansamabdullah@yahoo.com1. Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, School of Agriculture, The University of Jordan, P.O. Box 13899, Amman 11942, Jordan3. Institute for Technology and Resources Management, in the Tropics and Subtropics (ITT), TH Köln—University of Applied Sciences, Betzdorfer Straße 2, 50679 Cologne, Germany1. Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, School of Agriculture, The University of Jordan, P.O. Box 13899, Amman 11942, Jordan1. Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, School of Agriculture, The University of Jordan, P.O. Box 13899, Amman 11942, Jordan4. Department of Horticulture and Crop Science, School of Agriculture, The University of Jordan, P.O. Box 13899, Amman 11942, Jordan2. Independent researcher, ansamabdullah@yahoo.comThe main challenge of the agricultural sector is the increasing pressure on natural resources, mainly water and arable land. Consequently, an urgent imperative arises to explore technological advancements that can boost food production in alignment with the growing demands. The Soilless Production System (SPS) emerges as a proficient approach for managing irrigation water, thereby making a significant contribution to food security. This research focuses on the efficient use of SPS and identifies the best economic use of the soilless techniques for different crops within an area characterized by limited land and water availability. The database for the study was generated through a farm survey to investigate the benefits of adopting SPSs as a sustainable agricultural practice. A linear programming approach was applied to develop an optimization model for resource allocation and crop mix selection, considering the development opportunities through the SPSs. Different scenarios were applied in the model. The results proved that adopting SPSs is a sustainable irrigation practice, since the technique promotes water use efficiency, generates profitability, and conserves the associated natural resources. The SPSs ensure sustainable use of water resources by increasing water use efficiency. The hydroponics cultivation system had 11 ± 1.7 times higher yields but required 82 ± 11 times more energy in comparison to the lettuce crop produced by the conventional production system (CPS). The result of the optimal solution shows that the total revenue of scenarios of the study is 109% of the revenue of the original value of the largest farmer. The water resources and the investment cost as constraints in the model are totally used, but the operational costs in the optimal solutions are 74% of the total operational cost in the original data. The optimal solution showed the importance of using computerized systems in which the control of the fertigation is better.https://www.aimspress.com/article/doi/10.3934/agrfood.2023056?viewType=HTMLsoilless systemshydroponic techniquelinear programming modelwater scarcitywater useeconomic efficiency |
| spellingShingle | Mohamamd I. Majdalawi Ansam A. Ghanayem Amani A. Alassaf Sabine Schlüter Mohammed A. Tabieh Amer Z. Salman Muhanad W. Akash Rui C. Pedroso Economic efficient use of soilless techniques to maximize benefits for farmers AIMS Agriculture and Food soilless systems hydroponic technique linear programming model water scarcity water use economic efficiency |
| title | Economic efficient use of soilless techniques to maximize benefits for farmers |
| title_full | Economic efficient use of soilless techniques to maximize benefits for farmers |
| title_fullStr | Economic efficient use of soilless techniques to maximize benefits for farmers |
| title_full_unstemmed | Economic efficient use of soilless techniques to maximize benefits for farmers |
| title_short | Economic efficient use of soilless techniques to maximize benefits for farmers |
| title_sort | economic efficient use of soilless techniques to maximize benefits for farmers |
| topic | soilless systems hydroponic technique linear programming model water scarcity water use economic efficiency |
| url | https://www.aimspress.com/article/doi/10.3934/agrfood.2023056?viewType=HTML |
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