Citation:

Amiri, Z., M. Asgharipour, D. Campbell, AND M. Armin. A Sustainability Analysis of Two Rapeseed Farming Ecosystems in Khorramabad, Iran, Based on Emergy and Economic Analyses. JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION. Elsevier Science Ltd, New York, NY, 226:1051-1066, (2019). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.04.091

Impact/Purpose:

The current global impetus to develop more sustainable methods of agricultural production is a factor of concern to agricultural scientists and national policy makers around the world including the USEPA. Rapeseed oil is a strategic food product for Iran and this economic need set within the context of the global concern for sustainable agriculture has driven research to find high productivity and sustainable production systems for rapeseed. This study relied on emergy and economic analyses to characterize both the ecological sustainability and the economic profitability of commercial and subsistence methods of growing rapeseed in Iran. The calculated values of several emergy indices showed the higher ecological sustainability of the subsistence farming system compared to the commercial system. The lower sustainability of the commercial system was largely due to the large amount of soil organic matter that was lost per unit input of nonrenewable resources used. In contrast, a large emergy exchange ratio in favor of the buyer, the increased environmental sustainability when the market impact is considered, the lower emergy consumption per unit of output, and the higher productivity of the production factors all indicated the relative economic and productivity advantages of the commercial system. The findings of this study revealed that the ecologic sustainability of the commercial system can be improved drastically by employing scientific solutions for the comprehensive management of the production in these ecosystems, especially through the amelioration of soil organic matter and prevention of its loss. The study also found that in addition to education to improve farmers’ technical knowledge of rapeseed production, the integration of small lots into a production system was recommended to improve the economic sustainability of the subsistence production system.

Description:

The overarching goal of this research was to provide sound strategies to further the development of rapeseed farming and to increase the sustainability and productivity of rapeseed production systems. Progress toward this goal was made by assessing subsistence and commercial rapeseed production systems in Khorramabad, Iran during the 2017–2018 crop year using both emergy and economic indices. The total emergy supporting the systems was estimated to be 4.13E+16 and 2.47E‏+16 sej ha−1 yr−1 for the commercial and subsistence rapeseed production systems, respectively. The calculated values of the modified environmental sustainability index, renewable emergy ratio, environmental loading ratio, and modified environmental loading ratio showed the higher ecological sustainability of the subsistence farming system compared to the commercial system for rapeseed production. According to these indices, the main reason for the lower sustainability of the commercial rapeseed production system was the large amount of soil organic matter that was lost per unit of nonrenewable resources used. A large emergy exchange ratio in favor of the buyer (EERYield); increased environmental sustainability, when the market impact is considered (Emergy Index of Sustainable Development, EISD); lower emergy required per unit of output (Unit Emergy Value, UEV) and the higher productivity of the production factors (Total Factor Productivity); all reflect the relative advantage of the commercial system over subsistence farming. Our findings revealed that the ecological sustainability of the commercial rapeseed production system can be improved by employing scientific solutions for comprehensive management of the ecosystem, especially through the amelioration of soil organic matter and prevention of its loss. Besides improving the farmers’ technical knowledge, the integration of small lots into the overall production system is recommended for improving the economic sustainability of the subsistence farming systems.

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