ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY OF TWO TECHNOLOGIES FOR PRODUCTION OF A MYCOPESTICIDE IN MADAGASCAR

1997 ◽  
Vol 129 (S171) ◽  
pp. 101-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dan Swanson

AbstractThe net present value (NPV) approach to capital budgeting is used to determine the relative economic feasibility of two production models capable of manufacturing a fungi-based biopesticide in Madagascar. Sales revenues are projected at $10–12 per hectare for 20 000–80 000 ha annually, with recurrent costs estimated in Madagascar and investment costs from IITA (Cotonou, Benin) and Mycotech Corporation (Butte, Montana). These cash flows are discounted by an appropriate interest rate and risk factor, with positive results for both the labour-intensive model and the capital-intensive model under several scenarios. Cost advantages for the two models depend on both technology and scale. The labour-intensive model achieves a higher NPV in a market of 20 000 ha per annum as compared with the capital-intensive model. The capital-intensive model achieves a higher NPV in a market of 80 000 ha (including exports to southern Africa). Both models benefit from scale economies, although this benefit is relatively greater for the capital-intensive model. Consumers of mycopesticides in Madagascar could realize nearly 20% savings under a higher output scenario with a capital-intensive technology, than under a lower output scenario with a labour-intensive technology. Large-scale producers, however, would require nearly four times as much investment capital, and could find it difficult to produce for export from Madagascar. In the absence of a large-scale producer, small-scale production would be appropriate and feasible based on lower investment costs. Malagasy production is also protected from foreign competition because of current phytosanitary regulations.

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bùi Thị Bích Lan

In Vietnam, the construction of hydropower projects has contributed significantly in the cause of industrialization and modernization of the country. The place where hydropower projects are built is mostly inhabited by ethnic minorities - communities that rely primarily on land, a very important source of livelihood security. In the context of the lack of common productive land in resettlement areas, the orientation for agricultural production is to promote indigenous knowledge combined with increasing scientific and technical application; shifting from small-scale production practices to large-scale commodity production. However, the research results of this article show that many obstacles in the transition process are being posed such as limitations on natural resources, traditional production thinking or the suitability and effectiveness of scientific - technical application models. When agricultural production does not ensure food security, a number of implications for people’s lives are increasingly evident, such as poverty, preserving cultural identity, social relations and resource protection. Since then, it has set the role of the State in researching and building appropriate agricultural production models to exploit local strengths and ensure sustainability.


2020 ◽  
Vol 33 ◽  
pp. 2
Author(s):  
Miguel Ángel Mejía-Ramírez ◽  
Verónica Valadez Rocha ◽  
Carlos Iván Pérez-Rostro

The snail Pomacea patula catemacensis is an endemic mollusk from the southeast Gulf of Mexico, which is commercially exploited and in decline since 2010. This decline is associated with an increasing market demand and illegal capture. We designed a small-scale production system for P. p. catemacensis and determined its financial feasibility for a base scenario. We used information gathered from stakeholders and stochastic modeling to predict the impact of uncertain variables on the economic indicators to assess the financial viability under varying conditions. The small-scale intensive production system, designed to yield 3.9 tons/year of unshelled product, requires an investment of about US $65,000. The production unit was financially assessed using the Modified Internal Return Rate and The Net Present Value of cash flow, considering a 14% discount rate and a 7% reinvestment rate. We obtained a Net Present Value of $67,000 and a Modified Internal Return Rate of 20% for the base scenario, which indicates the viability of the project. A Monte Carlo simulation was run to assess the robustness of the project to variability of three parameters: labor cost, energy cost, and market price; with random and simultaneous variation, resulting in 95% probability of getting a Modified Internal Return Rate larger than the current interest rate (8%) and a low probability (2.8%) to be financially unviable. This production system is worthy of consideration as an option to reduce the fishing pressure on the tegogolo natural populations of the Catemaco Lake while satisfying the market demand.


2019 ◽  
Vol 65 (No. 4) ◽  
pp. 121-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juha Laitila ◽  
Robert Prinz ◽  
Lauri Sikanen

The objective of this study was to determine the economic performance of alternative chipper choices for small-scale chipping based on unit cost (€ per chip-m3) and net present value (NPV) calculations. For the chipping cost and investment profitability analyses four tractor-powered professional or semi-professional disc chippers and two professional drum chippers mounted on a truck or powered by tractor were selected. Initial investment, operating costs, and the cost of outsourced chipping were the key elements for comparing the profitability of investment alternatives. The average purchase prices, cost factors, and technical details of the chipper units were acquired from machine dealers, specification sheets, a literature review, and interviews with chipping entrepreneurs. The results of the three tractor-powered professional chippers involved in the comparison were very close to each other. The profitable running of a truck-mounted drum chipper calls for high annual chipping volumes: the chipper type is therefore a feasible choice for an entrepreneur in large-scale chipping. Semi-professional disc chippers offer lower investment costs, but their economic feasibility is relatively poor.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 68
Author(s):  
Asha E. Harman ◽  
Asep Bayu Dani Nandiyanto

Makalah ini bertujuan mengkaji kelayakan ekonomi produksi nanopartikel Fe3O4 dari skala laboratorium menjadi skala industri. Evaluasi dilakukan menggunakan 2 model studi kelayakan, yaitu: analisis teknik dan evaluasi ekonomi. Analisis teknik memberikan informasi potensi produksi berskala besar dan hasil proses ini dapat diterapkan menggunakan peralatan yang tersedia secara komersial dan murah. Evaluasi ekonomi dilakukan berdasar perbandingan grafik Cumulative Net Present Value pada keadaan ideal dan grafik pada saat dilakukan perubahan parameter (seperti perubahan nilai kurs dollar, kuantitas produk penjualan, dan besar nilai gaji karyawan). Dari hasil evaluasi, semua perubahan parameter memberikan nilai positif yang menunjukkan bahwa proyek ini layak dijalankan secara komersial dan dalam skala besar. Hal ini karena hasil evaluasi memberikan kestabilan indeks keuntungan pada beberapa perubahan nilai parameter. Studi ini menunjukkan bahwa fabrikasi Fe3O4 dapat memberikan laba yang menjanjikan di negara berkembang dan dapat menarik investor asing untuk bekerja sama dalam fabrikasi Fe3O4.This paper aims to evaluate the economic feasibility of Fe3O4 nanoparticle production from a laboratory scale to an industrial scale feasibility. The evaluation was conducted using 2 models of feasibility studies, namely: technical analysis and economic evaluation. Technical analysis provides information on the potential for large-scale production and the results of this process can be applied using commercially available and inexpensive equipment. Economic evaluation is based on a comparison of the Cumulative Net Present Value graph in an ideal condition and the graph when parameters changing are made (such as changes in the dollar exchange rate, the quantity of sales products, and the value of employee salaries). From the evaluation results, all parameter changes give a positive value indicating that the project is feasible to run commercially and on a large scale. This is because the evaluation results provide a stable index of profit for some changes in parameter values. This study shows that Fe3O4 fabrication can provide promising profits in developing countries and can attract foreign investors to work together on Fe3O4 fabrication.


Author(s):  
Asep Bayu Dani Nandiyanto ◽  
◽  
Dea Bella Dewary Atika Putri ◽  
Yayan Sunarya ◽  
Jarot Raharjo ◽  
...  

Lanthanum nickelate (La2NiO4) is a precursor for producing lanthanum pentanickel (LaNi5) alloys for nickel-metal hydride battery (NiMH; a type of rechargeable battery), which has been developed quite rapidly for many applications, such as Hybrid Electric Vehicles. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the economic feasibility of the production of La2NiO4 with different fuels (i.e., glycine fuel (F-G) and citric acid fuel (F-CA)) using a sol-gel combustion method. Several economic evaluation parameters were analyzed, such as gross profit margin, internal rate of return, payback period, cumulative net present value, and so on. The project was evaluated from the ideal condition to the worst-case conditions, including labor, sales, raw material, utility, as well as external conditions (e.g., tax). The results showed that the production of La2NiO4 is prospective from engineering and economic perspectives. The engineering analysis for both production steps using F-G and F-CA is feasible, and the production can be done even in small-scale production using commercially available apparatus. The economic analysis showed that the process using F-CA is better than that using F-G. From this economic evaluation analysis, the project is profitable and the recovery of the investment is less than seven years for F-G and four years for F-CA. Although this project is feasible to run and profitable, it is not attractive to industrial investors due to the fewer values in some parameters. Thus, since this material is very important to reduce dependence on imports, additional further technologies for improving processes and support from Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and government are important for maintaining this project.


Nanomaterials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 757
Author(s):  
Ohchan Kwon ◽  
Yunkyu Choi ◽  
Eunji Choi ◽  
Minsu Kim ◽  
Yun Chul Woo ◽  
...  

Graphene oxide (GO) has been a prized material for fabricating separation membranes due to its immense potential and unique chemistry. Despite the academic focus on GO, the adoption of GO membranes in industry remains elusive. One of the challenges at hand for commercializing GO membranes lies with large-scale production techniques. Fortunately, emerging studies have acknowledged this issue, where many have aimed to deliver insights into scalable approaches showing potential to be employed in the commercial domain. The current review highlights eight physical methods for GO membrane fabrication. Based on batch-unit or continuous fabrication, we have further classified the techniques into five small-scale (vacuum filtration, pressure-assisted filtration, spin coating, dip coating, drop-casting) and three large-scale (spray coating, bar/doctor blade coating, slot die coating) approaches. The continuous nature of the large-scale approach implies that the GO membranes prepared by this method are less restricted by the equipment’s dimensions but rather the availability of the material, whereas membranes yielded by small-scale methods are predominately limited by the size of the fabrication device. The current review aims to serve as an initial reference to provide a technical overview of preparing GO membranes. We further aim to shift the focus of the audience towards scalable processes and their prospect, which will facilitate the commercialization of GO membranes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2115 (1) ◽  
pp. 012026
Author(s):  
Sonam Solanki ◽  
Gunendra Mahore

Abstract In the current process of producing vermicompost on a large-scale, the main challenge is to keep the worms alive. This is achieved by maintaining temperature and moisture in their living medium. It is a difficult task to maintain these parameters throughout the process. Currently, this is achieved by building infrastructure but this method requires a large initial investment and long-run maintenance. Also, these methods are limited to small-scale production. For large-scale production, a unit is developed which utilises natural airflow with water and automation. The main aim of this unit is to provide favourable conditions to worms in large-scale production with very low investment and minimum maintenance in long term. The key innovation of this research is that the technology used in the unit should be practical and easy to adopt by small farmers. For long-term maintenance of the technology lesser number of parts are used.


2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 71
Author(s):  
Robert J. Sweeney

Capital budgeting decisions generally involve the commitment of resources in the current period to secure positive cash flows over time that generate a rate of return in excess of the cost of the funds invested. The most common techniques used to perform this analysis are the Net Present Value (NPV) and the Internal Rate of Return (IRR).Conceptually, these two techniques are substitutable; i.e. the resulting decision from a NPV analysis is identical to the decision from an IRR analysis. In practice, however, the NPV and the IRR can, on occasion, produce conflicting decisions. Specifically, when analyzing mutually exclusive assets the Net Present Value can support one asset while the Internal Rate of Return supports the other. The purpose of this paper is twofold; first, to highlight structural deficiencies in the conventional application of the NPV and the IRR, and second, to demonstrate a procedure to correct for these structural errors.


1976 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 19-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
James W. Richardson ◽  
Harry P. Mapp

Managers of business firms, large or small, farm or nonfarm, must make investment decisions under conditions of risk and uncertainty. However, in evaluating investments, the assumption of perfect knowledge has often been used to simplify the analysis. For example, an estimate of average annual net returns is frequently discounted into perpetuity to evaluate a real estate investment alternative. Capital budgeting literature suggests a number of approaches to evaluating alternative investments. However, use of concepts such as the payback period, average rate of return, internal rate of return and net present value embodies the assumption of perfect knowledge.


Author(s):  
Asep Bayu Dani Nandiyanto ◽  
Nissa Nur Azizah ◽  
Gabriela Chelvina Santiuly Girsang

Corncob is usually disposed of directly as waste, creating problems in the environment, while it can be converted into valuable materials. This research aimed to evaluate the literature review on briquette production from agricultural waste (using non-binder and cold press with a binder) and the current works on techno-economic analysis, to propose an optimal design for the production of briquette from corncob waste, and to perform a techno-economic analysis based on the selected optimal processing method. The engineering perspective based on stoichiometry and mass balance showed the potential corncob briquette manufacture in both home and large scales due to the possible use of inexpensive and commercially available equipment and raw materials. The economic perspective [based on several economic evaluation factors (i.e., gross profit margin, payback period, break-even point, cumulative net present value, return of investment, internal rate return, and profitability index) under ideal and non-ideal conditions by considering internal (i.e., sales, raw materials, utilities, and variable cost) and external aspects (i.e., tax)] confirmed the prospective development of the project in the large-scale production with a lifetime of more than 18 years. The main issue in the project is the raw material (i.e. tapioca flour), giving the most impact on the project’s feasibility. Even in severe conditions, the project is feasible. The great endurance was also confirmed in the case of a higher tax rate. This study demonstrates the importance of producing corncob-based briquettes for improving the economic value and giving alternatives for problem solvers in the utilization of agricultural waste.


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