Abstract
Background: In this study, the water footprint and the carbon footprint were calculated during the activities of the agricultural phase of tomato cultivation, comparing agro-ecological production systems with conventional production systems. Methods: We examined with six plots in total: 3 agro-ecological plots and 3 conventional plots in la Esperanza and Tabacundo, Pedro Moncayo canton, Ecuador. The water footprint was calculated according to Hoekstra’s method. For the greenhouse gas emissions calculation, due to the production of fertilisers, the activity data was multiplied by the emission factor. Phytosanitary emissions were calculated using the factor given by BioGrace. Results: For the conventional system the most representative footprint is that of blue water with 44.19 litres of water/kg of tomatoes, followed by the green water footprint with 14.42 litres of water/kg of tomato whilst the lowest value is 0.96 litres of water/kg of tomatoes for the grey water footprint. Conclusions: The results obtained show that an agro-ecological system is the most efficient in terms of consumption of resources. Its produce also have an added value for promoting sustainability, responsible consumption and a healthier diet. The generation of eco-labels can encourage the consumption of these by expanding markets for this production system.
Highlights
Greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture continue to rise on a global scale, not as fast as emissions from other human activities
The blue water footprint is the amount of water that comes from surface or groundwater and is evaporated, incorporated into a product or taken from one body of water
In relation to the grey water footprint, the highest value was found for plot 5 with 2.59 litres of water/kg of tomato
Summary
Greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture continue to rise on a global scale, not as fast as emissions from other human activities. The agroecological agriculture is farming that “centers on food production that makes the best use of nature’s goods and services while not damaging these resources” (see More and Better report on a viable food future). Conventional agriculture is typically highly resource and energy intensive, and highly productive” see USDA factsheet on conventional farming In this study, emissions and water requirements for tomato cultivation in conventional production systems and agro-ecological production systems were calculated in the La Esperanza and Tabacundo parishes, Pedro Moncayo canton. The water footprint and the carbon footprint were calculated during the activities of the agricultural phase of tomato cultivation, comparing agro-ecological production systems with conventional production systems. The generation of ecolabels can encourage the consumption of these by expanding markets for this production system
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