Economic analysis of strip and pit cultivation methods in desertification projects

Economic analysis of strip and pit cultivation methods in desertification projects (case study: Ardakan city)

Introduction

One of the ways to prevent the expansion of desert areas is their biological stabilization by using compatible plant species. The most common methods of planting Haloxylon aphyllum plants are strip cultivation and pit cultivation. Both cultivation methods have been used in the North Ardakan desertification plan. Therefore, in order to choose the best planting method economically in areas with the same conditions, the economic analysis of these two methods for one hectare of cultivation and for the establishment of one sapling can be effective in saving the costs of executive bodies. Therefore, the present research is carried out by using the meter analysis method and its estimation and comparison with the real analysis method in order to identify the most suitable cultivation method from the economic point of view in desertification plans.



Materials and methods

In terms of country divisions, the studied area is located in Yazd province and Ardakan city and at a distance of 20 kilometers from its center. In order to investigate the costs of implementing two methods of strip (channel) and pit cultivation, two methods of meter and estimation and real analysis were used.In the meter and estimation method, first the work components are determined based on the plan and the executive plan, and the cost of each part is extracted through the relevant price list, and according to the operation volume, the final cost per surface unit and the cost per each Haloxylon seedling is calculated. Then, the real cost is calculated by the real analysis method, which is done by being in the field and calculating the costs based on the time of using the tools and the number of workers in the form of real wages. The real cost is also calculated per unit of surface and per each cultivated seedling. By comparing the estimated and actual costs of implementing both strip and pit cultivation methods, the best method can be chosen from an economic point of view.



Results

The cost of each hectare of Haloxylon aphyllum cultivation using the pit method was estimated at 260 million Rials. While in the case of strip cultivation, the estimated cost was approximately 220 million Rials per hectare. The second method cost about 40 million Rials less. By comparing the actual costs, it was also found that the actual cost was less than the estimated amount of about 6 million rials for pit cultivation. A comparison of the actual cost of planting also showed that the cost of the strip method per hectare was about 67 million rials less than the pit method. The ratio of the actual cost to the estimate in the pit method is 0.975. This means that 12 to 13% below the price has economic justification. Regarding the ratio of the actual cost to the estimate in the strip cultivation method, 0.89 was obtained, which means that up to 24% below the price has economic justification.









Discussion and conclusion

In the pit cultivation method, due to the different nature of the work, which has more volume of excavation and embankment, the construction of a pan and waste of time compared to the strip method, it has a higher cost per unit area of operation, and it is better if the conditions are the same and the location is suitable. Strip cultivation method was used in order to reduce the cost. The calculated cost for each Haloxylon aphyllum plant in the pit cultivation method is 1308.164 thousand Rials and for each Haloxylon aphyllum in the strip cultivation method is 1125.884 thousand Rials. Regarding the results of the research to estimate the actual cost of the two cultivation methods under investigation, it was observed that 268,000 Rials are required for one hectare of planting seedlings using the pit method. This is while the actual cultivation cost per hectare was calculated as 86/201142 thousand Rials in strip cultivation metho. The cost of planting each seedling in the actual estimation in the pit cultivation method was calculated to be 1340 thousand rials. Also, the actual cost of growing each seedling in the strip cultivation method was found to be 714,005,000 rials. The difference between the actual cost of the two cultivation methods was calculated to be 14,66857,000 rials. This shows that in the field and by saving money and time, using the strip method, a larger area can be implemented for desertification than the pit method. Finally, it can be concluded that the cost of pit cultivation is more than the strip cultivation method, both by estimation method and actual analysis method, therefore, under the same conditions, in terms of cost reduction and economy of the cultivation method Stripping is more economical and also the actual cost of implementing both cultivation methods is lower than the estimated cost. The difference between the estimated cost and the actual cost for pit and strip cultivation was calculated as 6367.2 and 24033.94 thousand rials, respectively.



Key words: biological stabilization, meter analysis, actual analysis, seedling cultivation, Haloxylon aphyllum