Determining the Optimal Production Pattern for the Poultry Industry with an Emphasis on Reducing Fuel Consumption and Pollution in Kerman

This study optimal production pattern for the poultry industry in Kerman with an emphasis on maximizing gross margin, minimizing fuel consumption, minimizing power consumption and minimizing pollution through the completion of 110 questionnaires by producers. For this purpose, the optimal production pattern was determined for the chicken farms based on each individual objective subject to a certain set of restrictions. Then, the augmented constraint optimization method was employed to simultaneously optimize all objectives. The augmented constraint method resulted in a set of 49 efficient solutions. Then, the solution selected from among the set of efficient solutions was obtained through the Gray TOPSIS taking into account the weighted combination for the objectives.The results of optimal patterns demonstrated that both products (broiler chicken and egg-laying chicken) in the region under study were engaged into the production pattern which is lower than the current pattern. Moreover, the production level of broiler chicken in the optimal pattern was higher than the production level of egg-laying chicken. The newly proposed pattern brings about greater gross margin and lower fuel consumption across the region. Therefore, it is recommended to shift the regional production pattern toward broiler chicken rather than egg-laying chicken.