Can Small-Scale Dairy Farm Profitability Increase with the Use of Solar Energy Technology? An Experimental Study in Central Tunisia

Meriem Zlaoui, Mohamed Zied Dhraief, Muhi El-Dine Hilali, Boubaker Dhehibi (), Mondher Ben Salem, Oussama Jebali and Mourad Rekik
Additional contact information
Meriem Zlaoui: National Institute of Agricultural Research of Tunisia (INRAT), University of Carthage, Tunis 2049, Tunisia
Mohamed Zied Dhraief: National Institute of Agricultural Research of Tunisia (INRAT), University of Carthage, Tunis 2049, Tunisia
Muhi El-Dine Hilali: International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), Tunis 2049, Tunisia
Boubaker Dhehibi: International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), Tunis 2049, Tunisia
Mondher Ben Salem: National Institute of Agricultural Research of Tunisia (INRAT), University of Carthage, Tunis 2049, Tunisia
Oussama Jebali: National Institute of Agricultural Research of Tunisia (INRAT), University of Carthage, Tunis 2049, Tunisia
Mourad Rekik: International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), Tunis 2049, Tunisia

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 13, 1-21

Abstract: The dairy sector in Tunisia is based on small-scale farms, with 81% of the breeders owning less than five cows. On these farms, milk is stored in plastic containers, resulting in post-production losses estimated at 10% in the studied region. Due to high temperatures, the present paper aims to study the implementation of an innovative solar-powered milk cooling system in Central Tunisia and assess its profitability for dairy farmers. The methodology is based on a comparison of three small-scale farm business models: a farm without any milk cooling equipment, a farm using an innovative milk cooling technology, and a farm using an electrical cooling tank. Results showed the significance of milk cooling in reducing milk rejection to 0%, leading to a total production of 6400 L per cow by the fifth year. Additionally, milk sales were found to increase due to the premium of 0.010 TND/L for cooled milk paid. In addition, farms utilizing solar-powered milk cooling technology exhibited superior profitability in terms of financial indicators. This research offers a sustainable energy solution for milk cooling on small farms, specifically addressing the challenges faced by these farms located in isolated areas where access to electricity is limited and the availability of milk cooling equipment is lacking.

Keywords: business model; electricity; milk cooling; solar energy; small-scale farms; Tunisia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/13/4925/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/13/4925/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:13:p:4925-:d:1178399

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().