Post on 06-Jun-2018
1
Life Cycle Assessment towards a
sustainable food supply chain -
AgBalance™
Markus Frank, Peter Saling, Martijn Gipmans,
Jan Schöneboom – BASF SE | LCA Food 2014
2
The Future of Agriculture
- Implications (Context, 2011)
Food production to be increased by 70% by 2050 (FAO)
Vast majority of farmers are mid-size smallholders -
pragmatic sustainable solutions needed
More influence by the food chain, trying to meet
consumers’ demands for food safety & sustainability
Sustainable intensification as the future paradigm
underlying intensive agriculture
Sustainability in Agriculture
- Sustainable Intensification
3 Sustainable Intensification is agro-ecosystem management and more
Intensive
Agriculture
Classical
paradigm
Sustainable
Intensification
fertility = fertilizer
pest control = pesticide
productivity = high-yielding variety
Integrated nutrient management
Integrated soil management
Integrated pest management
Crop rotationRoyal Society of the U.K., 2009
4 Basic philosophy of socio-economic LCA
… there are no blueprints!
SA cannot be defined by the acceptability of any particular
technology or practice alone
… there is no free lunch!
Tradeoffs and their resolution are at the core of SA.
…is not a “wolf in sheep‘s clothing“*
Nothing must be banned: hybrids, GMOs, mineral fertilizers,...
* Friends of the Earth
Sustainability in Agriculture
- Sustainable Intensification
Lack of Infrastructure
Connect farmers to improve
access to technology &
infrastructure
Lack of Marketing Support
Increase famers’
profitability through
decision support
Lack of Technical Advice
Access to agro know-how
and decision support
Is socio-economic life cycle assessment over-engineered for smallholders?
Sustainability in Agriculture
- Smallholder Issues
6
Vision:
“ Enable one million soybean farmers to
sustainably produce 3 MT/ha with
enhanced quality, transforming farming into
a valued profession and creating a
profitable and sizeable business
proposition for us”
Project “One million smiles”
- Co-Creation of Farmers, ITC & BASF
Project “Samruddhi” (“Prosperity”)
2013: > 250,000 farmers reached
Agronomic
Practices
Selection of
Seed and
ST
Weed
Control
Insect
Control
Yield
GapHarvesting
Mandi
Market
place
Does Samruddhi improve the sustainability performance of soya production?
8
AgBalance Method Development
Measure sustainability in agriculture
Eco-Efficiency
Sustainable
Agriculture
Holistic method for life cycle
assessment in agricultural and
food value chain
Informed decisions on how to
manage improvement
Independent assurance of
functionality and coherence
received by
AgBalance™
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The Engine Room of AgBalance I
Bona fide LCA and beyond…
Prechain Agriculture Downchain
AgBalance
Life Cycle
Assessment(ISO 14040-44)
Social Impact
Assessment(UNEP-SETAC)
Ag-specific
Indicators(Biodiversity, Soil,
Land use)
Total Life Cycle
Costs(Eco-Efficiency)
10
Ecological aspects
includes the categories
water use, land use, energy
consumption, resource
depletion, emissions,
ecotoxicology potential
as well as indicators related
to
soil health and
biodiversity.
The Engine Room of AgBalance II
3 Dimensions, 16 Categories & 69 Indicators
Economic aspects
include indicators like
variable costs, fixed costs,
farm profits
and macro-economic
indicators such as
productivity and subsidies
Social aspects
include indicators like
working conditions,
training, education, human
toxicity, wages, gender
equality, MRL exceedances,
and also
rural employment, fair
trade, land lease prices and
social security.
Comprehensive data as
a profound basis for clear
statements needed
SUSTAINABILITY SCORE
+-
11
The Engine Room of AgBalance III
Evaluation, Aggregation & Communication
Social
Economic
Ecological
Water use
Biodiversity
Land use
SoilEnergy
consumption
Emissions
Macro
economic
Fixed costs
Variable
costs
Consumer
Local &
national
community
International
community
Future
generation
Farmer/
Entrepreneur
Resource
consumption
Eco-toxicity
potential
Subsidies
Maintenance/
General repair
GVP
Farm profits
Seed
Soil preparation
Insurances Labour
Investment
Crop protection
Fertilization
Machinery
Deprecations
Soil compaction
Soil erosion
Eco-Toxicity Farming intensity
Crop rotation
Potential for
intermixing
Renewable
Energy
Greenhouse
gases
Acidification
potential
Ozone depletion
potential
Photochem.
Ozone creation
pot.
Water emissions
Solid waste
Assessed total
water use
State indicator
Agri-
environmental
schemes
Nutrients balance
Eco-Toxicity
potential
Abiotic resource
depletion
Non-renewable
Energy
Air emissions
Gender equality
Access to land
Residues
in feed & food
Unauthorized /
unlabeled GMO
Fair trade
Trainees
Social security
Association
membership
Professional
training
Imports from
developing
countries
Wages
Risk potential
Toxicity potential Integration
Wider economic
effects
N-surplus
Soil carbon
balance
Actual
Agricultural area
Assessed total
area (prechain)
Wages/salaries
(prechain and
downstream
chain)
Strikes and
lockouts
Functional
product
characteristics
Other risksEmployment
Qualified
employees
Employees
Part time workers
Family support
R&D
Capital
investments
Foreign direct
investment
Child labour
Other fixed costs
Protected areas
Toxicity potential
(Farmer)
Indicators
Categories
Dimensions
Custody/
Transport
Processing Retailer Disposal
Scope: Soybean production data from 2012 in Madhya Pradesh
On-farm interviews were carried out by TÜV Süd India Ltd.
Functional Unit: 1 ton of Soybean produced
Alternatives:
o Soya production according to Samruddhi farming practice
o Soya production according to a non-Samruddhi (but state-of-the-
art) farming practice
System Boundaries: Cradle to field border
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Off the farm
production of
operating funds
Preparation
Input
Cultivation Harvesting Custody/
Transport
Processing Retailer Disposal
These life cycle steps are not considered, since tconsidered equal for all alternatives
AgBalance on Samruddhi
Scope & System Boundaries
AgBalance on Samruddhi
Results of Single Score
13
Sustainability performance:
Non Samruddhi
Samruddhi
Sustainability Score: better performance
of Samruddhi in Economy and
Environment
Economy: better cost position (fixed &
variable) and higher profits
Society: professional training as most
important driver (partly compensated by
pre-chain effects)
Environment: efficiency gains and soil
nutrient content in Samuddhi as key20 %
Samruddhi improves the economic & environmental dimensions
14
Environmental performance:
Samruddhi
Non Samruddhi
Fertilizer
Typical fertilizer regime (mineral & organic
fertilizers) predicted to result in a nutrient
surplus in the soil: weaker performance in
“soil”, “biodiversity” and “emissions”.
Efficiency
More efficient use of land, energy and
abiotic resources through Samruddhi
Lower ecotox potential per functional unit
Water Use
Only secondary driver (rainfed production)
AgBalance on Samruddhi
Environmental Performance
Nutrient management of Samruddhi should be improved
15
Sustainability performance:
Samruddhi
Samruddhi opt.
Rationale: Nutrient balance
restored by adaptation of the
mineral fertilizer amount used in
Samruddhi.
Result: 20 % higher sustainability
Economy: variable cost position &
profits improved
Society: no significant change
Environment: better performance
in most impact categories
40%
AgBalance on Samruddhi
Scenario Analysis – Optimized Nutrient Mgnt.
Optimized Samruddhi outperforms in both dimensions
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Environmental performance:
Samruddhi opti.
Samruddhi
Fertilizer
Better performance due to the nutrient
balances in the soil
Efficiency
Better performance regarding energy
consumption (fertilizer production), resource
depletion, emissions.
Water Use
Only secondary driver (rainfed production)
AgBalance on Samruddhi
Scenario Analysis – Optimized Nutrient Mgnt.
Optimized scenario results in better performance in environment & economy
From Sustainability to Crop Management
- Concept of AgB Farm
17Confidential
Description
Source: APD/S
Function:
Crop management tool
tailored to farmers’
needs
Based on AgBalance
study
Approach
1. Use AgBalance study as
basis
2. Identify key drivers
3. Build simulator model
4. Embed in IT platform
Interactive
scenario
analysis
Model
KPIs
Data Farming Operation
AgBalance
Web-based
Interface
‘AgB Farm’
‘AgBalance Farm’ Indicator Set
- Case Study: Soya in India
ErosionEffective
Yield
Water
emissions
Emissions
Global
Warming
Potential
Economy
N, P, K
Balance
Soil Organic
Matter
Balance
Acidification
potential
Abiotic
resource
depletion
Professional
training -
general
Human Tox
Potential
Farmer Resource
Efficiency
Variable
Costs
Profit
Energy
Consumption
Soil Health
y = 0.0122x + 1.2468
y = 0.0071x + 1
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1.0
1.1
-90 -80 -70 -60 -50 -40 -30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 40
x (N balance, kg N/ha)y (factor)
-80 0,33
-75 0,33
-49 0,65
0 1,00
25 1,00
Yie
ld
N [kg/ha]
Model built via
regression
analysis
Selection of the
key indicators
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‘AgBalance Farm’ Simulator
- Case Study: Soya in Madhya Pradesh
Objective: Facilitate discussion of ‘Samruddhi’ advisors with farmers
Displayed: Yield, Sustainability & Profitability
Benchmark: Average of ‘Samruddhi’ farmers in Madhya Pradesh
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‘AgBalance Farm’ Simulator
- Case Study: Soya in Madhya Pradesh
Example: Low input scheme (fertilizers, crop protection, interventions)
Results: Good sustainability performance but lower profitability
21
‘AgBalance Farm’ Simulator
- Case Study: Soya in Madhya Pradesh
Example: Profitability- (not productivity)-focused scheme
Results: Good performance in yield, sustainability and profitability
The Need for Shared Principles
- Create transparency for farmers & the value chain
22
Agribusiness
Government
NGOs
Growers
Food Retailers
Academia
Consumer
FTM
AgB
TSC
SAI
SFL
SISC
CGF
Yesterday Today Tomorrow
Harmonization with respect to the principles of assessment
F. Luckey, 2013
Co-Chairs: Rothamsted Research
& BASF
Members: TSC, SAI, RISE,
Espaco Eco, Embrapa, ASDA,
LEAF, Unis Wageningen & Guelph,
Unilever, ADAS, Farming Futures
Consultants: Cool Farm Alliance,
FtM, FAO
Status: Online consultation of draft
“White Paper“ till end of October
23 Thank you for participating in the online consultation
Action Group towards Shared Principles
- Draft ‘White Paper‘ prepared
Please visit:
www.sustain-agriculture.org
Sustainability in Modern Agriculture
- Conclusions
AgBalance™ was designed to assess
sustainability in agriculture and to give
guidance for improvement programs
AgBalance Farm aims to provide on-farm
decision support based on LCA results –
also for smallholders
Harmonization of evaluation principles
critical to increase acceptance by FVC
(‘Action Group on Shared Principles’)
Sustainability has become an imperative for modern agriculture -Let’s not miss the opportunity…!