Analysis of Energy Inputs in Rice Production at Varying Yield Levels

This study was conducted to determine variations in energy usage of rice production among farmers in three towns of Laguna province in Philippines, namely Pagsanjan, Pila and Santa Cruz. Using a pre-tested structured questionnaire, 176 farmers were interviewed in May 2016. Three farmer groups were identified based on their yield levels during the dry cropping season of 2016. Specifically, these are (a) Low Yield Group (LYG): 3.0-4.0 ton ha-1 (b) Average Yield Group (AYG): 4.5-5.5 ton ha-1 and (c) High Yield Group (HYG): 6.0-7.5 ton ha-1. Results revealed that total energy inputs varied among the three yield level groups. LYG used the least amount at 9,871.00 MJ ha-1, AYG at 13,940.00 MJ ha-1 and HYG at 17,627.10 MJ ha-1. This translates to 0.06 LDOE kg-1 of unmilled rice. The energy usage per kg of unmilled rice did not differ among the three yield groups although the energy usage was highest in the HYG because the high energy use was offset by the high yield (Total energy input (MJ ha-1) ÷ Grain yield (kg ha-1)).