Energy and Economic flow in homegardens in Subtropical Yunnan, SW China: A case study on Sanjia village

SUMMARY

We studied the energy and economic flow of six types of homegardens in Sanjia village, SW China. Our study showed that the energy input of six types of homegardens averaged 99.11-175.65 x 10¹⁰J/ha, the energy output was 102.30-159.83 x 10¹⁰J/ha and the ratio of input/output ranged between 1:0.880-1:1.416. The ratios of input to output of home-gardens that prioritized cultivation of crops were higher than for homegardens that prioritized animal husbandry or other economic activities. The economic ratio of input/ output of six types of homegardens varied between 1:0.997-1:1.376 and the economic output ranged between 2480.0-10131.5 RMB/yr. We concluded that the homegarden systems of Sanjia village are high in the input and output of energy and cash flow, and can provide a basis for designing models of farm economy in rural subtropical areas.

Key words:

• Homegarden system
• energy flow
• economic flow