Management of Agricultural Produces and Lifecycle

Abstract

Abstract: The agricultural revolution was the key development in the rise of human civilization. It’s a varied field that produces a wide array of products which are important to us. As our global populations are growing faster the competition for natural resources will increase resulting in pressure on agricultural production of food, fiber, energy, various high-value by-products, etc. With upgraded concerns related to environmental impacts associated with the needs of a growing population, a life cycle assessment (LCA) framework will help to determine areas of greatest impact. The LCA methodology was mainly developed for industrial operations but we are using them in a wider range of fields which includes agriculture. Many factors increase the complexity of determining impacts associated with agricultural production The lack of consistent methodology of some impacts that are of major concern to agriculture (e.g., land and water usage) increases the difficulty or complications of this analysis. This paper attempts to review some of these issues and give perspective to the LCA expert in the field of agriculture. Keywords: Life cycle assessment, Ex-ante LCA, Technology assessment, New technology, Emerging technology