Environmental Life Cycle Assessment in Organic and Conventional Rice Farming Systems: Using a Cradle to Farm Gate Approach

Abstract

The rising demand for agricultural products and expanding public awareness of environmental friendliness have led to the adoption of the organic farming system rather than the conventional one. The life cycle assessment (LCA) concept is a frequently used method to examine the environmental impacts of any activity across its entire life cycle. This research is the first use of LCA for the impacts of vermicompost and cattle manure as organic fertilizers in rice farming. The main goal of this study was to compare the environmental impacts of conventional and organic rice farming. This paper uses midpoint attributional LCA to analyze environmental damages during rice production. The four primary harm categories used in this strategy to categorize the environmental effects were: (1) climate change, (2) human health, (3) ecosystem quality, and (4) resources. The inventory data for the agricultural stage were obtained through farmer interviews. The system boundaries were set to cradle to farm gate, and 1 ton of final product (dry matter) was used as the functional unit. The results show that in all main damage categories, except for particulate matter formation, stratospheric ozone depletion, mineral resource scarcity, and freshwater eutrophication, conventional rice production has higher environmental impacts than organic rice production. Overall, organic rice production is more effective in diminishing the negative environmental effects of farming compared to conventional rice production.