scholarly journals A Comparison of the Economic Efficiency of Living and Artificial Snowfence Designs for Road Protection

2000 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 70-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Daigneault ◽  
David R. Betters

Abstract Both artificial and living snowfences are used to protect roads from blowing and drifting snow. This article evaluates and compares the economic performance of three snowfence designs--the Wyoming and double-row slatted artificial snowfences and a three-row living snowfence. The economic analysis evaluates the snowfences by applying four economic performance indicators: total net benefits, present net value, benefit/cost ratio, and annual breakeven benefits. The study uses snow removal savings and accident reduction benefit information from a case study in the state of Wyoming. The case study results show all the designs are economically efficient when used for road protection. However, the living snowfence outperformed the other designs in three of the four economic performance indicator categories. The largest proportion of total costs of the Wyoming and living snowfence are establishment costs whereas the bulk of total cost of the double-row slatted snowfence is for maintenance. The economic performance of all the snowfences is most sensitive to changes in their useful or effective lives. The procedures and general conclusions of the study can be applied to similar cases elsewhere. West. J. Appl. For. 15(2):70-74.

Author(s):  
Hemchandra Saikia ◽  
B. C. Bhowmick ◽  
R. A. Halim

Energy is a very key component in every sphere of our life, be it a crop production or any other field. Again seasonality is a very common phenomenon in crop production and due to this there exist slacks and peak season of various sources of energy use and production. Present study was conducted in Golaghat district of Assam to highlight the month-wise energy use and also to know the energy output-input and benefit-cost ratio. Sampling method used for the study was Three Stage Sampling method. Result from the study revealed that the cropping intensity of the study area was 119.57 per cent. The most dominant energy consuming months were July, August, November, and December using 30.64, 18.90, 13.12 and 7.65 per cent of the total energy used in crop production in per hectare of gross cropped area. The energy output-input and benefit –cost ratio of the study area were 10.84 and 1.64 respectively. From the study it was found that there is vast scope to boost the production, productivity and profitability of crop production in study area by providing all the necessary infrastructures in due space and time in adequate amount and proper quality.


Author(s):  
Francis E. Loetterle ◽  
Melanie Johnson ◽  
Charles Quandel ◽  
Carey Barr ◽  
Andrew Komendantov ◽  
...  

The economic assessment of transportation projects is evolving from a reliance on user benefits (travel time, cost, or safety) to encompass a wider spectrum of potential benefits, fostered by advances in economics and recognition that different project modes deliver different portfolios of benefits. Sponsors develop projects to address specific problems in their communities. This progression in how investments are evaluated opens the door for projects whose outcomes span a variety of benefit categories rather than concentrating on traditional user benefits and permits an improved intermodal comparison of candidate investments. Transit and intercity rail projects are particular beneficiaries of the broader project assessment approach. This paper presents a case study of how a comprehensive approach to project assessment was applied to the Northern Lights Express project that would reintroduce passenger rail service between the cities of Minneapolis and Duluth, Minnesota, the state's largest economies. Owned and operated by BNSF Railway, Amtrak's service in the corridor ended in 1985. Six stations are planned: Target Field in Minneapolis; stations in Coon Rapids, Cambridge, and Hinckley, Minnesota; a station in Superior, Wisconsin; and Union Depot in Duluth. The goal for the analysis was threefold: ( a) to confirm that the investment would yield a positive return; ( b) to communicate with partners, stakeholders, and the public about the project's expected outcomes; and ( c) to contribute to the selection of an alternative. The benefit–cost ratio was estimated for eight alternatives that varied by physical alignment and service plan.


Author(s):  
V. Chandrasekar ◽  
P. Jeyanthi ◽  
Nikitha Gopal

Fish meal is an important feed ingredient produced from trash and low value fishes and is widely used in the poultry, aquafeed and agricultural sector. In addition to traditional sun dried product, modern fish meal is produced by modern fish meal plants. This paper presents a comparison of economic performance of fish meal units adopting the traditional and modern methods of fish meal production in Veraval, Gujarat. The study was conducted among 12 fish meal plants operating in Veraval. In the traditional method, the raw material is sourced from and nearby places within the state which is sun dried and then ground to produce fish meal. In modern fish meal units, through a mechanised production line, raw fish is steam-cooked, dried and finally ground to produce fish meal. Quality of the fish meal produced in the modernised units was found to be superior as compared to traditional fish meal. While sun dried fish meal fetches `20-30 kg-1, the fish meal produced in modern units is sold at `50-70 kg-1. Even though the initial investment and operational cost, which includes raw material, labour and other overheads is more in the modern method, the price realisation is almost double per unit of the product and the quality of the fish meal is also better than the traditionally produced one. The benefit cost ratio and net present value for modern method was also estimated to be higher.


2015 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 291-304 ◽  
Author(s):  
MA Hossain ◽  
MA Hoque ◽  
MA Wohab ◽  
MA M Miah ◽  
MS Hassan

Labour scarcity, harvesting loss, timely harvesting and harvesting cost are crucial in rice and wheat harvesting in Bangladesh. Combine harvester is a newly introduced harvesting machine in Bangladesh. This study was undertaken to evaluate the technical and economic performance of combine harvester available in farmers? field and farmer?s perception regarding the use of combine. Field tests of two new (CLASS andDaedong) and two refresh (Kukje and Anower) combine harvesters were conducted for harvesting rice and wheat in the farners? field of Jessore, Pabna,Dinajpurand Thakurgaon districts during 2011-12. Primary data were collected from 30 adopter and 30 non-adopter farmers from each district of Bogra, Rangpur, Dinajpur and Thakurgaon through direct interviewingduring 2012-13. Information was also collected from different combine harvester traders available in Bangladesh. Average time, cost and grain saving by combine harvester over manual methods were 97.50, 35.00 and 2.75%, respectively. Benefit cost ratio of CLASS, Daedong, Kukje and Anower combine harvesters were found to be 2.68, 2.11, 2.29 and 2.70, respectively. The payback periods of refresh combine harvesters were lower than the new combine harvester. There were some mechanical problems observed in refresh combine harvesters during field operations. New harvester was observed almost trouble free and popular to the famers. Scarcity of spare parts and mechanic service were the main problems for repair and maintenance of the combine harvesters in farm level. Considering the technical performance of combine harvester and demand of the farmers, new combine harvester may be introduced in commercial basis in Bangladesh.Bangladesh J. Agril. Res. 40(2): 291-304 June 2015


2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
R. S. Sharma ◽  
Yogesh Kumar ◽  
Komal Yadav ◽  
Shivam Patel ◽  
Teerath Raj ◽  
...  

The present study for performance evaluation newly developed varieties of CIM –Kranti and other varieties of menthol mint cultivation has been carried out at farmers’ field of central Uttar Pradesh. Mints are commonly used as the source of fragrance, flavor and pharmaceuticals industry. During the study period 2017-18, 100 farmers cultivating CIM-Kranti and other varieties have been selected from the region of central Uttar Pradesh. The primary data were collected from the selected farmer’s field on profitability comparison between CIM-Kranti and other varieties under cultivation. The highest area and production has been observed during 2012 and 2013. Simple statistical tools and techniques have been used for data analysis of the cost of cultivation and profitability. It has been observed during the study that CIM-Kranti gives higher returns (.98491/- ha/year) over other varieties (.70977/-ha/year). However, the input cost of CIM-Kranti is higher than other varieties of the crop but the net return of CIM-Kranti was more profitable than other varieties. The benefit cost ratio has been observed 1.45 and 1.74 of other varieties and CIM-Kranti respectively. The new variety “CIM-Kranti” of menthol mint is cold and frost tolerant and has the potential to produce 10-15% more oil i.e. 145-160 kg/ha in summer season as compared to all other popular commercial cultivars of menthol mint.It is suggested from the study that maximum profit is generated through CIM-Kranti cultivation followed by other varieties crop.


2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 135-138
Author(s):  
Rajendran

While the farming community is facing a heavy loss in the cultivation of crops such as paddy, sugarcane and turmeric, vegetables, particularly the small onions, give them a significant return. The income from the vegetables helps the farmers to meet their living expenses. This study is purposefully conducted as termed as Case Study in Thiru. Duraimurugan, [Mobile No: 078454 16243] farmer in Village of Kanmaniyapuram, Kadayanallur Taluk, Tirunelveli District. The case study revealed that, the benefit-cost ratio is 1:1.4 that means, if the farmer will spend one rupee the profit is rupee 1.4. In fact, that the farmer has been really struggling with the Break-Even Point. They face huge loss owing to poor yield. He must modify their production pattern and verify each cost component, which component to be minimize and which inputs might add to get higher profit with lower cost production.


Author(s):  
Emmanuel Owusu ◽  
Nelly Ataawomba Afuubi ◽  
Fanglin Li

Ghana has had a long-standing problem of illegal gold mining that has led to the destruction of the environment. The government of Ghana is taking steps to not only curb illegal mining but also to restore destroyed lands that resulted from illegal mining. The government intends to spend financially in the area of ecological restoration to returned disturbed lands to their natural states possible, but the question remains whether restoring those disturbed lands will be beneficial to the country. The study was undertaken in Bekwai Municipal Area in the Ashanti region of Ghana where most locals are farmers. The research studies whether the benefits of ecological restoration outweigh the cost of ecological restoration? The research deployed a quantitative data collection. The data collected was analyzed using benefit-Cost ratio. The result shows that the benefit of ecological restoration outweighs the cost incurred as dependent on the land use as a carbon sequestration project. In conclusion, investment in ecological restoration is a step in the right direction for a country endowed with gold resources. This will spur growth and at the same time improve and protect the country’s natural resources and environment.


Author(s):  
Manjunatha N ◽  
Wilson W. Kispotta ◽  
J. Ashoka

The present study is an attempt to assess the silkworm cocoon production and its profitability in five taluks of Kolar district of Karnataka through structured survey during 2012-13. The sample comprised of 120 families consisting of 440 members with an average of 4.40. The number of adult male and female members constituted 46.14 and 33.41 per cent respectively and the rest were children. The number of illiterates in the sample was to the tune of 33 per cent. Out of total acreage wetland constituted 27.36 per cent while garden land formed 14.53 per cent. The total cost incurred for rearing of 8,000 DFLs per year was worked out to be Rs. 7,30,224. Among the total cost, maximum cost was incurred towards the mulberry leaves Rs. 4,55,000 (62.30%). The minimum cost of expenditure was incurred towards transportation and marketing Rs 5000 (0.68 %) and other costs were to the tune of Rs. 500 (0.06%). The total net earnings from 10 batches per year was estimated to be Rs. 19, 04,000 per 8,000 DFLs per year with a benefit cost ratio of 1.59. The total investment on building and equipments for rearing of 8000 DFLs per year was worked out to be Rs. 46,874. Among the depreciation cost incurred towards the equipments for rearing of 800 DFLs, the highest was contributed by mountages Rs. 25,600 during the silkworm cocoon production activities.


2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rashed Saeed ◽  
Arshed Bashir ◽  
Muhammad Qasim ◽  
Irfan Mehmood ◽  
Khuda Bakhsh

The present study was designed to analyze comparative economics of hybrid rice and basmati in the core rice growing area of Punjab. Cross-data was collected through well-structured questionnaires from 80 farmers during May and June 2011.Study results reveal that higher yield and less time required for maturity in production were the main reasons for planting of hybrid rice. Hybrid rice occupied 3.6 acres whereas area under basmati was 5.9 acres of the total farm area. Farmers obtained above 60 percent increase in yield of hybrid rice. Results show that cost of production of basmati rice was estimated as Rs.37364 per acre and total revenue was Rs.44768 per acre. The benefit cost ratio of basmati rice was 1.20 and that of hybrid rice was 1.80, implying that hybrid rice has brought comparatively more economic benefits to the farmers as compared to basmati in the study area. Shortage of buyers, much costly poor quality hybrid seed, late payment and higher transportation costs are among major constraints in rice production and marketing.


2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 1591-1603 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. C. Chen ◽  
C. Y. Wu ◽  
B. T. Huang

Abstract. A risk reduction program was developed after debris-flow disaster analysis is conducted using mitigation structures, evacuation measures and community restrained expansion strategy. The risk assessment method delineates hazard zones and analyzes vulnerability and the resilient capacity of an affected area, allowing the prediction of losses of properties and lives, and the corresponding risk. It can also be used to evaluate performance of a risk reduction program. The proposed method was applied to the Songhe community as a case study to assess debris-flow risk and performance of reduction programs consisting of mitigation structures, evacuation measures and a restrained expansion strategy. Total annual risk decreased to $0.01 million from $0.72 million for the No. 1 Torrent and to $0.36 million from $1.22 million for the No. 2 Torrent after mitigation structures were installed, and evacuation measures were implemented based on restrained expansion. Although mitigation structures are costly, they can reduce the size of hazard zones. Delimitating the Designated Soil and Water Conservation Area restrains community expansion and decreases possible losses. Although evacuation measures cannot reduce the size of hazard zones, they effectively increase the resilient capacity of residents. The benefit-cost ratio for mitigation structures exceeds 1.0 for both torrents with an average of 3.87; the benefit-cost ratio for evacuation measures is markedly greater than 1.0. Combining mitigation structures and evacuation measures increases the total benefit with a benefit-cost ratio of 4.38. Analytical results showed that the risk reduction program is cost-effective.


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