Net Benefit of Pig Waste Disposal
Attributes
Medium: Land
Country: Thailand
Analytical Framework(s): Economic Analysis
Unit(s): Net Present Value
Study Date: 2008
Publication Date: 2008
Major Result(s)
| Resource/Environmental Good | THB (2008) |
THB (2014)1 |
USD (2014)2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| NPV of fertilizer method3 | 929,325,000.00 | 1,055,313,590.25 | 32,063,244.27 |
| NPV of fertilizer method per ton of pig waste | 197.00 | 223.71 | 6.80 |
| NPV of fish feed alternative | 1,378,480,000.00 | 1,565,360,533.60 | 47,559,832.09 |
| NPV of fish feed alternative per ton of pig waste | 358.00 | 406.53 | 12.35 |
| NPV of concrete dome method | 1,198,010,000.00 | 1,360,424,215.70 | 41,333,319.63 |
| NPV of concrete dome method per tonne of pig waste | 125.00 | 141.95 | 4.31 |
| NPV of covered lagoon alternative | 1,005,120,000.00 | 1,141,384,118.40 | 34,678,296.70 |
| NPV of covered lagoon alternative per ton of pig waste | 144.00 | 163.52 | 4.97 |
| NPV of mixed method | 739,207,000.00 | 839,421,292.99 | 25,503,859.91 |
| NPV of mixed method per ton of pig waste | 146.00 | 165.79 | 5.04 |
| NPV of deep pond method | -16,575,700.00 | -18,822,867.65 | -571,888.97 |
| NPV of deep pond method per ton of pig waste | -19.00 | -21.58 | -0.66 |
About the Inflation Adjustment: Prices in Thailand (THB) changed by 13.56% from 2008 to 2014 (aggregated from annual CPI data), so the study values were multiplied by 1.14 to express them in 2014 prices. The study values could be expressed in any desired year (for example, to 2025) by following the same inflation calculation and being sensitive to directional (forward/backward) aggregations using your own CPI/inflation data.
Study Note: There are five different options in pig waste management in Thailand. The first is the conversion of the waste into biogas, using either the fixed concrete dome system or the plastic-covered lagoon system. The second is using the waste as fish feed while the third is to dry the waste and sell it as organic fertilizer. The fourth method is simply to dump the waste into a deep pond dug out on the farmer's own farm. The last option involves a combination of the biogas, fish feed and organic fertilizer methods.
Study Details
Summary: This study carried out a cost-benefit analysis of alternative methods of animal waste disposal used on pig farms in three main livestock regions of Thailand in which intensive pig farming has increased rapidly in recent years. The results of the study showed that among five existing methods of waste disposal, the Net Present Value (NPV) of the promoted technological method, i.e., converting the pig waste to biogas, was lower than the NPVs of some of the other methods. However, the sensitivity analysis to determine the "best case" and "worst case" scenarios showed that the "best case" (providing the highest benefits) was the conversion of pig waste to biogas with the sale of the surplus electricity generated from the biogas to the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT). The study recommends for the government to implement policies to promote the production of renewable energy as well as provide the necessary technical and financial support to encourage pig farmers, especially of medium and large-scale farms, to install biogas systems. The surplus gas has potential economic value, but that potential is not being realized. There is a pressing need to create the necessary conditions that would allow this readily available renewable energy source to be fully tapped, thus benefiting both the farmers as well as the economy of Thailand.
Site Characteristics: Pig production in Thailand increased by 3.5% per annum between 1992 and 2005, reaching the quantity of approximately nine million pigs each year (Table 1). Pig farming is carried out in all twelve "livestock regions" of the country (see Figure 1), with about 25% of the total produced in Region 7, 21% in Region 2, about 7% in Region 3 and approximately 8% in Region 5. These four regions, in aggregate, account for roughly 61% of the total number of pigs produced (See Table 1). The Central Region of Thailand (especially the part of it in the vicinity of Bangkok) has been the most productive area of the country. Over a relatively short period of time (less than 30 years), pig farming in these four regions of Thailand has completely changed from small-scale production on mixed farms to large-scale, intensive production. All marketed pigs from intensive pig farms in Thailand are collected by butchers and transported to slaughterhouses in remote locations. Environmental pollution is a much more serious problem in these four regions compared to the rest of Thailand. The problem has been and will continue to be the focus of much attention and concern from the government. In the other eight regions, pig farming remains mostly small-scale, carried out on mixed farms using traditional methods.
Comments: The main aim of this study was to determine how well biogas production compares with the other pig waste disposal options, based on assessments from both a socioeconomic perspective and a private financial perspective. The biogas option has been available for some time and has indeed been encouraged by the Thai government through capital subsidy grants and concessional rates for loans by farmers who choose to invest in this technology. However, the uptake rates have not been as high as expected as many farmers have been reluctant to adopt the technology to date.