Energy from agricultural biomass and effects on rural income in Thessalia,Greece

Biomass production for energy is examined as an alternative land use patter n in Greece focusing on Thessalia, one of the most dynamic agricultural reg ions in the country. On this endeavor, a micro-economic model has been deve loped in order to simulate effects of energy crops introduction on individu al farm crop mix and to assess costs of development of agro-energy chains, such as sweet sorghum-to-ethanol. Modeling regional agriculture to evaluate agro-energy chains requires synergy of mathematical programming packages w ith relational databases as well as energy crop cost analysis and biologica l growth models. These modules are coupled in a way that an integrated Regi onal Agriculture Simulation Package (RASP) is shaped, operating in MS-Windo ws environment.