Improving agricultural sustainability through farm mergers: an energy efficiency perspective
The aim of this paper is to investigate agricultural sustainability as a collective issue involving multiple rather than individual farms. Through the utilization of energy consumption as a proxy, we propose a novel methodology that evaluates the impact of farm consolidations on agricultural sustain...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2024-12-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/14735903.2023.2293598 |
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| author | Amar Oukil Ahmed Nourani Ahmed Amin Soltani Mohamed-Rachid Boulassel Abdelaali Bencheikh |
| author_facet | Amar Oukil Ahmed Nourani Ahmed Amin Soltani Mohamed-Rachid Boulassel Abdelaali Bencheikh |
| author_sort | Amar Oukil |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The aim of this paper is to investigate agricultural sustainability as a collective issue involving multiple rather than individual farms. Through the utilization of energy consumption as a proxy, we propose a novel methodology that evaluates the impact of farm consolidations on agricultural sustainability while accounting for resource preferences. Our approach incorporates the ordered weighted averaging (OWA) operator within an inverse data envelopment analysis (IDEA) model to identify post-merger farms that meet preset efficiency targets. We employ a DEA cross-efficiency (DEA-CE) procedure to select merger plans that maximize agricultural sustainability for each preference scenario. By analysing a case study of 43 tomato greenhouse farms in Biskra, northern Algeria, our findings demonstrate that mergers can significantly enhance agricultural sustainability, surpassing the potential of individual farms by a factor of over 15. Additionally, the adoption of the most sustainable merger plan can lead to energy savings of more than 69%. Irrespective of the preference scenario, substantial energy savings in machinery, fertilizers, diesel, and electricity ranging from 22.92% to 73.73% were observed. These results emphasize the strategic role of merger processes in promoting agricultural sustainability and optimizing resource utilization. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2ad158576f3842e08eb645e5a963defd |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1473-5903 1747-762X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability |
| spelling | doaj-art-2ad158576f3842e08eb645e5a963defd2025-08-20T02:46:28ZengTaylor & Francis GroupInternational Journal of Agricultural Sustainability1473-59031747-762X2024-12-0122110.1080/14735903.2023.2293598Improving agricultural sustainability through farm mergers: an energy efficiency perspectiveAmar Oukil0Ahmed Nourani1Ahmed Amin Soltani2Mohamed-Rachid Boulassel3Abdelaali Bencheikh4Department of Operations Management & Business Statistics, Sultan Qaboos University, Al-Khodh, OmanScientific and Technical Research Center on Arid Regions (CRSTRA), Biskra, AlgeriaVESDD Laboratory, Hydraulic Department, University of M’sila, M’sila, AlgeriaDepartment of Allied Health Sciences, College of Medicine & Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, OmanLaboratory of Saharan Natural Resources, Department of Natural and Life Sciences, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University Ahmed Draia, Adrar, AlgeriaThe aim of this paper is to investigate agricultural sustainability as a collective issue involving multiple rather than individual farms. Through the utilization of energy consumption as a proxy, we propose a novel methodology that evaluates the impact of farm consolidations on agricultural sustainability while accounting for resource preferences. Our approach incorporates the ordered weighted averaging (OWA) operator within an inverse data envelopment analysis (IDEA) model to identify post-merger farms that meet preset efficiency targets. We employ a DEA cross-efficiency (DEA-CE) procedure to select merger plans that maximize agricultural sustainability for each preference scenario. By analysing a case study of 43 tomato greenhouse farms in Biskra, northern Algeria, our findings demonstrate that mergers can significantly enhance agricultural sustainability, surpassing the potential of individual farms by a factor of over 15. Additionally, the adoption of the most sustainable merger plan can lead to energy savings of more than 69%. Irrespective of the preference scenario, substantial energy savings in machinery, fertilizers, diesel, and electricity ranging from 22.92% to 73.73% were observed. These results emphasize the strategic role of merger processes in promoting agricultural sustainability and optimizing resource utilization.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/14735903.2023.2293598Agricultural sustainabilityfarm mergersresource optimizationenergy efficiencysustainability assessmentdata envelopment analysis (DEA) |
| spellingShingle | Amar Oukil Ahmed Nourani Ahmed Amin Soltani Mohamed-Rachid Boulassel Abdelaali Bencheikh Improving agricultural sustainability through farm mergers: an energy efficiency perspective International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability Agricultural sustainability farm mergers resource optimization energy efficiency sustainability assessment data envelopment analysis (DEA) |
| title | Improving agricultural sustainability through farm mergers: an energy efficiency perspective |
| title_full | Improving agricultural sustainability through farm mergers: an energy efficiency perspective |
| title_fullStr | Improving agricultural sustainability through farm mergers: an energy efficiency perspective |
| title_full_unstemmed | Improving agricultural sustainability through farm mergers: an energy efficiency perspective |
| title_short | Improving agricultural sustainability through farm mergers: an energy efficiency perspective |
| title_sort | improving agricultural sustainability through farm mergers an energy efficiency perspective |
| topic | Agricultural sustainability farm mergers resource optimization energy efficiency sustainability assessment data envelopment analysis (DEA) |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/14735903.2023.2293598 |
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