101. Accounting for farm diversity in Life Cycle Assessment studies - the case of poultry production in a tropical island
- Author
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Jonathan Vayssières, Alexandre Thevenot, Joël Aubin, Emmanuel Tillard, Systèmes d'élevage méditerranéens et tropicaux (UMR SELMET), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro), Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro), Centre d'Économie et de Management de l'Océan Indien (CEMOI), Université de La Réunion (UR), Crete Or Entreprise, Sol Agro et hydrosystème Spatialisation (SAS), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AGROCAMPUS OUEST, Crete d'Or Entreprise, CIRAD, and Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro)
- Subjects
Engineering ,Strategy and Management ,[SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio] ,UNCERTAINTY ,02 engineering and technology ,010501 environmental sciences ,Life Cycle Assessment ,Facteur climatique ,01 natural sciences ,Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering ,Mitigation scenarios ,Agricultural science ,FEED ,0202 electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering ,Environmental impact assessment ,Life-cycle assessment ,General Environmental Science ,Broiler supply chain ,2. Zero hunger ,GREENHOUSE-GAS EMISSIONS ,Reunion island ,Classification ,Work (electrical) ,P01 - Conservation de la nature et ressources foncières ,Circuit de commercialisation ,MILK-PRODUCTION ,Analyse du cycle de vie ,020209 energy ,Supply chain ,Context (language use) ,ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS ,Cluster analysis ,PIG PRODUCTION SYSTEMS ,MANAGEMENT ,Production (economics) ,Agricultural productivity ,Modélisation environnementale ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,Changement climatique ,AMMONIA ,MANURE ,Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment ,business.industry ,L01 - Élevage - Considérations générales ,Environmental engineering ,Impact sur l'environnement ,Évaluation de l'impact ,15. Life on land ,Méthode d'élevage ,PERFORMANCE ,Agriculture ,Exploitation agricole ,Production animale ,Élevage de volailles ,business - Abstract
The farm is the most influential stage of agricultural production because farming practices affect both pre-farm and on-farm environmental impacts. Since farm diversity is not usually taken into consideration, it is legitimate to question the interest of including it in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies. This work explores several approaches to modelling the farm stage when assessing the environmental impact of an agricultural supply chain in a context with variable farm performances. A LCA of a poultry supply chain was applied from cradle-to-slaughterhouse gate. The first approach is a classical one in which farm diversity is not taken into account and an average farm is constructed on the basis of weighted average farm characteristics. The second approach distinguishes four farm types identified by cluster analysis, and four LCA were performed according to these farm types. Farm types were distinguished based on their consumption of inputs and the type of ventilation of the farm buildings. Results indicate that the classical approach is sufficient to highlight problem hotspots and to identify promising mitigation measures. Reducing the transport distance of imported maize, improving feed conversion efficiency and anaerobic digestion of slaughterhouse animal wastes were identified as appropriate mitigation measures. As feed production and poultry rearing are the stages with the most impact, distinguishing farm types provides i) insight into farm functioning to better explain the variability of environmental impacts and understand how to reduce them, ii) reduce the uncertainty of results, and iii) provide appropriate recommendations for mitigation measures. Coupling a farm typology with the LCA is particularly useful when farming systems are very diverse like in Reunion Island where the climate varies considerably across the island. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
- Published
- 2013