Abstract
This study aimed to evaluate the economic and environmental performance of a Brazilian sheep production system (in the São José do Rio Preto (SJRP) region). The cost of production and the emergy indicators were calculated, and compared with other scientific results. The study was divided into three stages: (i) construction of the conceptual model; (ii) transformation of all resources and stocks by unit emergy value; and (iii) analysis of emergy indices. For emergy analysis, imported purchased inputs (P) represented 59.84% of all emergy, in which soy and corn contributed 16.14% and 11.38%, respectively. These inputs also contributed significantly to the economic cost of production as 14.63% and 12.55% of the total cost, respectively. Compared to other production systems, the SJRP system presented a lower emergy production rate and a higher environmental load rate, reducing the emergy sustainability index. In addition, it had the highest level of investment in emergy, suggesting that its sustainability is inferior to other referenced production systems. However, the SJRP system had the lowest emergy exchange ratio, indicating that this system is the closest to a fair price. In conclusion, the system must be reconsidered to become more sustainable; mainly with regard to the confinement of lambs that consume large amounts of concentrate (corn and soybean) from outside the system.
Highlights
After the Brundtland Report [1] stated that sustainable development must meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, efforts have been made to align animal production systems with the sustainable development model
How sustainable is it? What characterizes its sustainability or lack thereof? this study proposes the integration of economic and ecological indicators based on two methods: emergy assessment and production costs analysis, to evaluate the sustainability of livestock production systems
The data collection and characterization of the representative productive system of this region are based on previous research carried out by Raineri et al [9] and adopted by the lamb production cost index (Índice de Custo de Produção do Cordeiro Paulista (ICPC), 2019), developed by the Laboratory of Socioeconomic Analysis and Animal Science (LAE)
Summary
After the Brundtland Report [1] stated that sustainable development must meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, efforts have been made to align animal production systems with the sustainable development model. Regarding sustainable agriculture and food production, according to the Sustainable Development Goals, efforts must be guided to guarantee the use of more resilient agricultural practices in food production systems, helping in the maintenance of the ecosystems and impacting the progressive regeneration of soil and earth quality [2]. In this sense, for livestock, sustainability is one of the challenges for decision-makers since it is necessary to manage the activity by integrating the multiple economic, social, and environmental objectives at the production unit level. Smith et al [5]
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