**1. Introduction**

Population growth and increased demand for food have led humanity to look for new ways to increase food production. Energy, which is an essential input in agriculture, has been considered as a feasible option to increase food productivity and enhance food security. As a result, agriculture has become energy-intensive to meet increased food and biofuel demand [1].

After the green revolution, the introduction of high yield varieties and intensive crop management practices has increased the use of energy manifolds in both developing and developed countries [2, 3].

It is anticipated that energy input for crop production will increase further mainly due to population and economic growth, climate change, degrading quality of soils, and shortage of labor [4, 5]. On the other hand, intensive use of energy in crop production is posing many threats to agriculture sustainability, human health, and sustainability of the environment. Sometimes to get maximum returns farmers make overuse of energy inputs. This has led to increased energy used in crop production at a faster rate compared to other sectors. Escape of traditional practices in

agriculture, technological advancements in Agri-machinery, and increased application rate of fertilizer is also responsible for increased use of energy in crop production. It is also ascribed to the introduction of high yielding varieties, and excessive use of biocides and chemical fertilizer. In addition to this diesel fuel consumption has also increased due to farm mechanization and pumping of underground water. Finally, scarcity of cultivable lands and irrigation water increased the human population, and the desire for improved living standards has also contributed to the intensive use of energy in agriculture. Both agriculture and the environment are dependent on each other and the efficient use of energy is a basic requirement for sustainable agriculture [6, 7]. Sustainable development of agriculture is dependent on high energy use efficiency with low energy use in crop production. Thus, increasing energy use efficiency in crop production is important for food security and environmental sustainability. Keeping in view the multiple interactions of agriculture with the environment, analysis of the consumption of energy (both operational and embodied) in the agriculture system is urgently needed to fight both environmental issues stemming from agriculture and climate change impacts on agriculture.
