Unveiling the most sustainable date production systems in Mirjaveh, Iran: an emergy-based approach

Rafsanjani, Soudabeh; Asgharipour, Mohammad Reza; Bagherpoor, Tohid; Javaheri, Mohammad Ali

doi:10.22034/jelsa.2025.456534.1064

Unveiling the most sustainable date production systems in Mirjaveh, Iran: an emergy-based approach

Document Type : Original research article

Authors

Soudabeh Rafsanjani ¹

Mohammad Reza Asgharipour ²

Tohid Bagherpoor ²

Mohammad Ali Javaheri ³

¹ Ph.D Student of Agroechology, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zabol, Zabol, Iran

² Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zabol, Zabol, Iran

³ Seed and Plant Improvement Research Department, Kerman Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, Agricultural Research Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Kerman, Iran

10.22034/jelsa.2025.456534.1064

Abstract

This study aimed to identify the most sustainable production system for Mazafati and Rabbi date palm cultivars in Mirjaveh County, Iran, during 2022-2023. Data pertaining to cultivated area, date palm production and yield, export volume, as well as the environmental and economic inputs necessary for production, were gathered through documentary and survey methods. These data were then analysed for the two study systems. The input elements were subsequently transformed into emergy equivalents, sej. The data collected indicates that the total emergy needed to sustain the Mazafati and Rabbi date palm production systems was 3.33E+16 and 2.92E+16 sej/ha/yr, respectively. The majority of inputs for both the Mazafati and Rabbi date palm production systems came from purchased sources, making up 92.69% and 71.68% of the total inputs, respectively. The findings suggest that both systems impose substantial environmental burdens as a result of their lack of utilisation of renewable resources and heavy dependence on non-renewable inputs. Hence, it is imperative and inevitable to decrease the utilisation of these resources in both date palm systems. Based on the emegy exchane ratio and emergy to money ratio indices, the Mazafati date palm system demonstrated higher values, indicating greater economic sustainability compared to the Rabbi system. Conversely, the emergy yield ratio was higher for the Rabbi date palm, suggesting that this system is more sustainable than Mazafati date palm production in terms of product yield. Overall, the Mazafati date palm system demonstrated a slight edge in terms of economic, commercial, and ecological sustainability.

Highlights

Mazafati dates use 3.33E+16 sej/ha/yr, Rabbi 2.92E+16 sej/ha/yr in Mirjaveh, Iran.
Purchased inputs dominate: 92.69% for Mazafati, 71.68% for Rabbi dates.
Mazafati excels in economic sustainability (EER 4.460) over Rabbi (3.391).
Rabbi shows higher yield sustainability (EYR 1.455) than Mazafati (1.430).
Both systems strain environment, need less non-renewable input reliance.

Keywords

Emergy value of money

Environmental inputs

Exchange

Export

Sustainable agriculture

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