Optimization of energy consumption and environmental impacts of arecanut production through coupled data envelopment analysis and life cycle assessment

Abstract

Energy flow and environmental impact are the key factors toward sustainable development of agricultural production. The objective of the current study is to optimize the energy consumption and assess the environmental impacts of arecanut production. The data were collected from 70 arecanut producers from the Goa state of India. The environmental impacts were investigated with a cradle to gate perspective; using, raw materials extraction, manufacture, use, and supply of inputs to the farm. The functional units considered were one tonne of arecanut production (mass-based) and 1-ha area of arecanut (land-based). The data envelopment analysis indicated the average technical efficiency of arecanut farms as 0.89, implying the potential of saving the resources to the tune of 11% with a mean economic saving of 413 $ ha−1 year−1 without reducing the arecanut yield. Human labor, irrigation, manures, and chemical fertilizers were the major energy consumers in the system. The life cycle assessment indicated on-farm emissions as the hotspot for the respiratory inorganics, terrestrial acid/nutria, and aquatic acidification impact categories. Arecanut production had the highest negative impact on human health followed by ecosystem quality. The global warming potential of arecanut production works out to be 959.87 and 2399.25 kg CO2 eq. per tonne and per hectare basis, respectively. In conclusion, efficient use of inputs in synchrony with crop requirement, advance irrigation methods, and efficient machinery usage may be adopted to curtail the environmental impact of arecanut production in the region.