Modern Agricultural Inputs and Trade Structures Shape the Energy Intensity of Grain Consumption Across High And Low Income Countries

Modern Agricultural Inputs and Trade Structures Shape the Energy Intensity of Grain Consumption Across High And Low Income Countries | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Modern Agricultural Inputs and Trade Structures Shape the Energy Intensity of Grain Consumption Across High And Low Income Countries Tetsuji Tanaka, Fumiya Nagashima This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8906529/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 8 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Despite extensive research on the food–energy nexus, a critical gap remains in understanding the energy intensity of grain consumption across income levels, particularly in differentiating between domestically produced and imported grains. This vulnerability is a central concern for global food security, yet the structural determinants of energy intensity remain insufficiently explored. Existing studies primarily examine production-level agricultural energy use, often overlooking the role of international trade and variations in energy efficiency. This study addresses these gaps by employing an input–output model to estimate the energy intensity of grain consumption in 30 high-income and 30 low-income countries. Energy use is categorized into six components: domestic direct energy, domestic transport, domestic indirect energy, import direct energy, import transport, and import indirect energy. The findings reveal significant cross-country differences in energy intensity. High-income countries exhibit an average energy intensity of 1.27 TJ per 1,000 tons of grain, while low-income countries average 0.64 TJ per 1,000 tons. Transport energy intensity constitutes 3.60% of total energy use in high-income countries, reflecting efficient logistics, whereas in low-income countries, it accounts for 10.90%, highlighting infrastructural inefficiencies. Statistical diagnostics and sensitivity analysis (± 30% transport intensity) confirm the robustness of these results. Principal component analysis suggests modern agricultural inputs drive higher energy intensity in high-income countries, whereas capital investment in low-income countries enhances efficiency. The results indicate that enhancing grain self-sufficiency acts as a critical structural buffer against global energy shocks, providing a resilient foundation for regional food systems. Energy intensity grain consumption food security input-output model agricultural sustainability Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files SupplementaryInformation20260207.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 09 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 03 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 13 Mar, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 13 Mar, 2026 Editor invited by journal 09 Mar, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 06 Mar, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 05 Mar, 2026 First submitted to journal 05 Mar, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8906529","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":605948015,"identity":"8c65fdd3-98c4-4ba8-8706-85b73f3d235d","order_by":0,"name":"Tetsuji Tanaka","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"","institution":"Meiji Gakuin University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Tetsuji","middleName":"","lastName":"Tanaka","suffix":""},{"id":605948016,"identity":"14bd76f9-63e9-4f7a-9c02-309013845f42","order_by":1,"name":"Fumiya Nagashima","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Kindai University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Fumiya","middleName":"","lastName":"Nagashima","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-02-18 06:53:57","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8906529/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8906529/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":104782015,"identity":"d6ada2d3-6341-4ecb-a8a7-8840ac111d71","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-17 07:56:42","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1179057,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"PRIntensity20260227clean.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8906529/v1_covered_d7cd9f2c-fef2-493c-94be-3979e0b5c4e2.pdf"},{"id":104685262,"identity":"f41d8e18-80f1-4243-b545-734401d2d873","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-16 04:10:32","extension":"docx","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":166227,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"SupplementaryInformation20260207.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8906529/v1/d846bba4aed6a94e8ac43422.docx"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Modern Agricultural Inputs and Trade Structures Shape the Energy Intensity of Grain Consumption Across High And Low Income Countries","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"discover-sustainability","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"disu","sideBox":"Learn more about [Discover Sustainability](https://www.springer.com/43621)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Discover Sustainability","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Discover Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Energy intensity, grain consumption, food security, input-output model, agricultural sustainability","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8906529/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8906529/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eDespite extensive research on the food\u0026ndash;energy nexus, a critical gap remains in understanding the energy intensity of grain consumption across income levels, particularly in differentiating between domestically produced and imported grains. 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