Journal of Agricultural Economics & Development

Abstract Introduction
Energy production from agricultural residue is an important research area with significant potential for sustainable energy production. In Iran, the use of agricultural waste for energy production, due to its favorable geographical characteristics, has the potential to address energy security, reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and create economic opportunities for rural communities. Rice and wheat are major crops in Iran, which produce residue in the form of rice husk and wheat straw, respectively, which can be converted into energy sources. Biomass energy production from agricultural residue is currently being carried out worldwide. Although biomass energy is believed to be an effective option in terms of domestic renewable energy production, its ability to improve social welfare is controversial. Therefore, this study aims to examine the extent to which increases in biomass prices affect social welfare. It also investigates the potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions through electricity generation using biomass derived from two major agricultural crops, wheat and rice.

Materials and Methods
This study evaluates the welfare and environmental impacts of using biomass derived from two major crops, wheat and rice. To achieve this objective, a partial equilibrium model was employed to maximize the total surplus of biomass producers and consumers, subject to resource availability constraints, thereby assessing the economic implications of biomass utilization. In addition, the potential for carbon dioxide emission reduction was estimated through a life cycle assessment of biomass-based electricity generation and by comparing its emissions with those associated with electricity generated from fossil fuels.

Results and Discussion
The results of the model simulation show that the welfare of biomass consumers decreases and that of biomass producers increases; so that the maximum social welfare is achieved at a price of 28.63 million Tomans per ton for wheat biomass and 27.59 million Tomans per ton for rice biomass. The results also showed that an increase in the price of biomass leads to an increase in biomass production, and by using this biomass produced from the two crops wheat and rice in electricity generation, greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced by 8.2 percent in the country.

Conclusion
Wheat straw and rice straw are among the agricultural residues that are used to produce electrical energy. Increasing the price of electrical energy produced from crop residue will increase the supply of biomass from wheat and rice crops, because straw and stubble can be a source of income for farmers in addition to the main wheat and rice crops, and on the other hand, by collecting straw and stubble, their burning in the fields is prevented. Given the increasing demand for electrical energy in the country, this study can be a basis for the government and policymakers to think of a solution for generating electricity from agricultural waste on a large scale that can produce clean energy and manage agricultural land residue. Therefore, according to the results of this study, it is suggested that by setting an appropriate price for wheat and rice straw and stubble, it is possible to collect them and not burn them in the fields, and to invest in biomass energy plants to produce clean energy. In this study, agricultural producers and power plants are considered as biomass consumers, and potential electricity market effects are ignored. To inform the sustainable use of biomass resources, the proposed model can be extended to the electricity sector consumed by the government and households. In addition, further research is needed to examine environmental impacts, such as biodiversity and water consumption, in a broader manner. The authors leave these explorations to future work.

Abstract In the second half of the twenty-first century, economic change, population growth and globalization were the main factors driving the deforestation in the South Asian countries. To identify the effects due to socio-economic factors affecting deforestation in such countries, this study applied the spatial econometrics model based on data from 18 selected countries for the period between 2005 and 2015. The spatial correlation tests were showing that ignoring the effects of spatial correlation cause bias in results. The results of the model also confirmed the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis for the selected countries with a turning point of $ 5,107. Our findings illustrated that increasing GDP per capita in neighbouring countries through interregional mobility of inputs of production will increase deforestation in the target country. The increase in the exchange rate in neighbouring countries due to the increase in imports of forest products and the non-cutting of domestic forest resources will reduce deforestation in the target country. Increased population density and unemployment in neighbouring countries due to reduced job opportunities and increased migration to the target country, followed by increased demand for food and increased land demand, led to increased deforestation in the target country. Finally, increasing the human development index variable has reduced deforestation in the target country. However, changing this variable in neighbouring countries has not affected the deforestation of the target country. Therefore, in a world with increasing economic growth, it is suggested that to prevent deforestation by improving the human development index, eradicating the problem of unemployment, and eradicating poverty redouble efforts. As the results of this study showed, the population had a direct and significant effect on deforestation in selected countries. Due to the increase in population growth in different years, it is recommended that the population issue be given more attention by looking at the requirements of sustainable development to reduce environmental degradation, mainly deforestation. Because according to the results of this study, the lack of rapid population growth reduces deforestation in selected countries.