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Global environmental degradation, and the diverse and intense interactions between irrigation and the environment, are prompting the sector to play a more active role towards sustainability. This paper builds on ICID's 2030 vision on a more sustainable irrigation sector. It recaps the various environmental impacts of irrigation systems and calls for a threefold paradigm shift: the objectives of irrigation, its practices, and the ways to assess its impacts must evolve. The paper critically analyses the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs') framework, which provides a prompting set of orientations, yet with little consideration of the systemic nature of irrigation. The paper promotes more operational frameworks: nexus thinking and the ecosystem services' framework, since both allow for systemic approaches, and for developing trade‐offs. The paper also discusses the merits of life cycle analysis (LCA) for environmental impact assessment. The benefits gained through these alternative approaches are illustrated in two cases of environmental impacts: return flow and salinization. Finally, the paper suggests combining these approaches with three principles for fostering a true paradigm shift in agricultural water use: developing and using suitable metrics, combining models to reconnect economic concerns with environmental ones, and considering larger territories and ecosystems to cater for interactions with the environment.

The Gambian and Malian fisheries and fish processing value chains are predominantly artisanal and represent a key source of protein and livelihoods, yet their eco-efficiency has not been studied to date. A Life Cycle Assessment was used to estimate the associated environmental impacts of those value chains and provide information on the eco-efficiency indicators, which relate technical efficiencies to environmental impacts. The results showed that industrial Gambian fleets' fuel use efficiency is rather low as compared with the global mean fuel use intensity (landed fish/consumed fuel) for both small pelagics and demersal fish. In Mali, the fuel use intensity of motorised artisanal fisheries is lower than the mean values for artisanal inland fisheries in developing countries, but the important increase of frozen imported fish from fish farming multiplies the estimated impacts by four. The least energy-intensive fisheries (cast nets and stow nets in Gambia and opportunistic fishers in Mali) feature better eco-efficiency scores. Based on the identified sources of inefficiencies, we suggest improvements in the landing/processing infrastructure and fishing units' engines, coupled with technical and business training and improved processing methods, to ameliorate seafood eco-efficiency and a stronger recognition of the importance of the artisanal fisheries subsector to overcome challenges and improving resource management.

Purpose: The goal of this work is to analyse the environmental impacts across the productive continuum of market gardening in southern Benin, to determine whether significant differences exist amongst the types of production, and to highlight their hotpots suitable to improvement. Moreover, the relative nutritional quality of products from different production system types were compared to determine whether there were differences and to assess them in relation to the associated environmental impacts. Methods: LCA and laboratory analyses were performed on a representative sample of systems and products (carrot, cucumber, tomato, lettuce, watermelon). The resulting scores (single scores for LCA and Nutrient Rich Food scores for nutritional quality) were statistically treated to identify the representativeness of their differences across production sites and production types (featuring distinctive production strategies: Conventional — synthetic fertilisers and pesticides, Organic — organic fertilisers and pesticides and “Lean” — limited inputs). Results and discussion: Statistically significant differences across environmental scores were found amongst production sites (for carrot, lettuce and all crops) and types (for carrot and all crops). For tomato, produced on all sites, under all production types, the natural and management-driven variability is large enough that no significant differences were found. Impacts are dominated by direct emissions from (over-)fertilisation and by fuel consumption for water pumping. Despite the absence of significant differences amongst production system types regarding the contents of both β-carotene and polyphenols, the nutritional indices suggest at least marginal differences across types regarding the overall nutritional value of carrot and tomato across types. Based on the limited data available, it cannot be stated that such differences are statistically significant. For carrot, there seems to be a correlation between nutritional quality and environmental impacts, with higher nutritional scores associated with lower environmental impacts. For tomato, it does not seem to exist a correlation. Conclusions: Significant differences in environmental scores exist amongst the types of production, with the larger impact associated with organic production, whilst that no statistically significant differences on nutritional quality can be demonstrated across types. Overall improvement of these systems would be achieved by less energy-intensive irrigation, organic waste processing platforms to reduce volatilisation losses, knowledge on the fertilising value of organic waste, and agricultural extension services or technical guides on good agricultural practices to reduce over-fertilisation and other negative environmental impacts.

International audience; Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) data are the backbone of Life Cycle Analysis (LCA). They reflectmodelling choices made by the LCA practitioner that can strongly influence the results ofenvironmental impact calculations. The high sensitivity of these data are the reason why theymust be accurately documented and tend to the highest possible quality. High quality, welldocumented LCI data can also be shared between LCA practitioners, allowing productivitygains and better research reproducibility, in particular between practitioners who do not workon the same life cycle inventory database. Unfortunately, SimaPro (PRé Sustainability B.V.,2020), one of the most used LCA software solutions, has only limited features to document,review and exchange LCI data.ELDAMhas been developed to fill this gap

On the request of decision-makers, the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) framework is increasingly applied in agri-food value chains in developing countries under particularly demanding constraints. Based on the cradle-to-farm-gate LCA results of the tomato in Rwamagana district in Rwanda commissioned by the European Union, the main objectives of the paper were to validate statistically the differences in environmental impacts among expert-based types for this crop based on location and season and identify the key-drivers of these impacts. The study was developed thanks to two intensive field visits and a survey of 15 plots. The functional unit was one kg of tomato at farm-gate. Combining several statistical analyses allowed identifying three groups of plots with contrasting input profile and eco-efficiency. For most impact categories, the first group with mainly plots in marshland during wet season had the lowest impacts and the third group with plots in hillside showed the highest impacts. The yield of tomato being significantly different between marshland and hillside plots was an important driver of these results. The second group composed of plots in marshland during the dry season generally showed intermediate impacts due to the withdrawing of water for irrigation. The second group obtained a higher freshwater ecotoxicity due to a more intensive use of toxic insecticides. The factorial analysis for mixed data (FAMD) confirmed the importance of the location and the season for the eco-efficiency of tomato plots and the hierarchical clustering on principle components (HCPC) separated the tomato plots into three clusters. The generalized linear models (GLMs) validated the differences in the environmental impacts per kg of tomato between the clusters. The principal component analysis (PCA) combined to GLM revealed that only the use of water was significantly different between the three groups. Compared to existing datasets, all groups showed high freshwater ecotoxicity impacts due to the use of toxic insecticides and the excessive use of mancozeb. The third group also showed a high freshwater eutrophication in relation to P losses due to erosion and low yield. From a methodological point of view, we demonstrated in this paper that using expert-based typologies combined with adapted statistical analyses constituted a relevant approach under such circumstances.

Jatropha curcas is an inedible oil crop which can grow under semiarid climatic conditions. Its oil can be used straight as fuel to provide energy in remote areas to improve living conditions. The aim of this study is to assess the environmental impacts of the electricity generation from Jatropha oil under West African conditions, by means of a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). These potential impacts are calculated for four crop managements and compared to the ones of a reference electricity generation from conventional diesel. Data used in this work are from Jatropha plantations set up in Mali since 2006. LCA results show that the potential benefits of the Jatropha systems are highly dependent on the crop management, especially for the fertilization strategy and the promotion of the oilcake. However, in all cases, the Jatropha systems have lower impacts than the reference diesel system by 75% to 96% for abiotic depletion, and by 80% to 97% for ozone layer depletion, and higher impacts by 260% to 1000% for eutrophication, and by 26% to 160% for acidification. In the best case, the Jatropha system can also have lower impacts than the reference system by 76% for climate change, and by 88% for photochemical oxidation. A methodological originality of this work is the inclusion of animal and human labour into the LCA framework. A first model is proposed for the accounting of energy consumption and GreenHouse Gases (GHG) emissions due to labour. Concerning energy consumption, labour is not negligible with a share from 14% to 50% of the total impact of the Jatropha systems; however the highest share of 50% corresponds to the scenarios with the lowest energy demand. CH4 emissions from livestock are also not negligible but second-order in this study since they account for 2% to 13% of total GHG emissions.

Although challenging, private and public decision-makers increasingly demand for quantitative assessments of the environmental performance of value chains in South contexts. This paper presents and critically analyzes a complete LCA study performed with Endpoint indicators for a public decision-maker for the fresh French bean (FB) value chain of Kenya. A cradle-to-market-gate LCA study was done including five main stages: agricultural production, transport by road before pack-house, pack-house, transport by road after pack-house, intercontinental transport by air-freight and using 1 kg of raw French bean processed as functional unit. Supported by local experts, primary data were collected for all inputs and outputs for 33 farms over 5 counties and 2 pack-houses. An expert-based typology defined four farm types: large-farm, medium-farm, small-holder farm (SHF) contracted and small-holder farm scattered. Best available methods for field emissions were used and adapted when possible to local conditions (e.g. P losses). At market-gate, air-freight was identified as main hot-spot pleading for the design of stabilized FB products that could be sea-freighted. At farm-gate, large differences were observed between farm types and fertilizer, water and land use were the key-drivers of their eco-efficiency. Impacts due to pesticides applications were small at Endpoint level but were incomplete. These results should be validated with a greater sample of stakeholders and the scope of the LCA should be extended to the consumption stage. Research is also needed to provide LCA practitionners with operational and reliable tools for a better inclusion of pesticides’ impacts and uncertainty.

In the past 10 years, 90% of cassava starch factories in Thailand have switched from fuel oil to renewable biogas, to cover part of their energy needs. The environmental benefits of switching to biogas have not been assessed quantitatively. To alleviate this, this study assessed 100-year greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, or carbon footprint (CF), of cassava starch production for four factories in Thailand. Key results demonstrate that biogas reduces the carbon footprint of the Thai cassava starch industry as a whole by 0.9–1.0 million tons CO2eq/year, and highlight methodological precautions to collect LCI data and allocate GHG emissions between co-products with high moisture contents. The system boundaries included farm stage (production of cassava roots), transportation to factory and processing into native starch. The functional unit (FU) was one ton of native cassava starch at 13% water content. Biogas produced from the factory wastewater (95–200 m3/FU) was the main source of thermal energy for starch drying, and for on-site electricity production when excess biogas was available. The total CF of cassava starch was in the range 609–966 kg CO2eq/FU. Agricultural production contributed 60% of the carbon footprint, mainly from the use of nitrogen fertilizers. GHG emissions of root production varied widely due to (1) the diversity of farming practices even within a small radius (50 km), and (2) different agricultural yields in different regions. The contribution of the factory stage to the carbon footprint depended on the use of electricity, biogas and other fuels, ranging from 217 to 342 kg CO2eq/FU. Allocation rules such as wet weight or dry weight basis allocations affected the results markedly.

This study investigates the balance between economic and environmental performances of cotton cropping systems in Southern Punjab, Pakistan. Eco-efficiency analysis was performed using Data Envelopment Analysis to integrate economic and environmental performances, which were assessed through life cycle assessment. All 169 cotton cropping systems were individually analyzed. Special attention was paid to farm size as a possible factor of performances variation. The results show that pesticides and fertilizer use, field emissions, field operations and irrigation are the main sources of environmental impacts. It reveals that production of 1 kg of seed cotton delivered at farm gate generates a global warming potential of 3–3.4 kg CO 2e and requires 5–6 L of water. Eco-efficiency estimates of small, medium and large sized farms computed on per hectare basis are 0.86, 0.74 and 0.78, respectively, and 0.51, 0.52 and 0.50 respectively when computed on the basis of kilogram of seed cotton. No significant differences of eco-efficiencies per functional unit were observed across farm size categories. Small farms' higher profits counterbalance their significantly higher levels of eutrophication, and balance its overall eco-efficiency with other farm categories. A trade-off analysis tried to identify the farms that would epitomize sustainable cotton production; it shows that it is almost impossible to combine high economic return with low environmental impacts under current context. However some recommendations have been formulated with regards to pesticides and fertilizers use, which may be significantly reduced with no effect on yield, and potentially reduce environmental impacts.

Introduction. Fruits are under growing scrutiny regarding their environmental impacts. However, fruit cropping systems have seldom been studied using life cycle assessment (LCA). As part of the Agribalyse® project, the cropping systems for apple and peach in France, clementine in Morocco, and mango in Brazil were evaluated with a cradle-to-farm-gate LCA in order to include the manufacturing, transportation and utilization of all inputs used on the farm. Materials and methods. Representative systems for each fruit were designed, relying mostly on expert knowledge for apple, peach and clementine, and on a detailed survey of eight commercial orchards for mango from the Rio San Francisco Valley in Brazil. Potential environmental impacts were calculated using the ReCiPe Midpoint (H) method. Results and discussion. For most impact categories, apple showed the least impacts, followed by mango, peach and clementine. For marine eutrophication, mango and small citrus had the least impact, followed by apple and peach far above. For ecotoxicity, mango had the least impact followed by apple, peach and clementine far above. For each fruit cropping system, margins of improvement were identified and associated with agronomic recommendations. Generally speaking, the key aspects driving the eco-efficiency of fruit cropping systems at the farm gate were the yield, the fertilizer rates, the use of toxic substances for pest management, the water requirement associated with its local availability and the energy source for irrigation. The ecotoxicity results revealed were uncertain due to the difficulty of determining representative crop protection practices for perennial crops. Conclusion. The Agribalyse® program represented an important step forward for the environmental assessment of fruits. Complementary research is needed to design better crop protection practices, field emissions and water-use impacts. (Resume d'auteur)

Purpose Despite the farm being considered by many as the most suitable level of decision-making and strategic management in agriculture, there is an increasing interest in evaluating agricultural management strategies at the regional level. Recent initiatives attempted to aggregate and generalise farm-level lifecycle inventory (LCI) data and lifecycle impact assessment (LCIA) results to describe the environmental performance of agricultural regions. This article describes our development and application of a regional statistics-based approach for constructing virtual representative farms (VRFs), representing dominant farm types for a given region, as a tool for comparing alternative regional agricultural strategies in contexts of insufficient farm (e.g. LCI) data. Methods Based on statistical sources, we constructed VRFs of the dominant farm types in the largely agricultural region of Brittany, France. Environmental impacts of different agricultural management strategies were estimated at the regional level by modelling the strategies as changes in VRF-based LCIs, calculating LCIAs and extrapolating their mean per-ha impacts to the total land use in the region. Based on this assessment, performed using a regional lifecycle assessment framework, we analysed relative environmental impacts of each management strategy on the region. A strategy-comparison table was built to allow decision makers to understand the potential regional environmental consequences of implementing each strategy. Results and discussion Once VRFs impact assessment results were extrapolated to the regional level, all strategies show environmental impacts per ha similar to those of the baseline, with differences ranging from −15 to +6%. The scenario featuring centralised fodder drying by 50% of cattle farms (50FOD) is the only one featuring surpluses for all products, due to associated cattle diet adjustments including reduced maize silage intake and partial substitution of concentrate feeds. The scenario featuring grass specialisation by all cattle farms (100GRA) shows a large deficit of grassland products, suggesting that a region-wide extensification strategy would not be self-sufficient. Conclusions The method developed enables comparing environmental consequences of region-wide implementation of agricultural strategies, yet, for our case study, it is particularly difficult to identify a “best” one. Nonetheless, the method serves as an initial step for preselecting strategies to investigate at a more detailed level. Prioritisation of a given strategy would likely be based on the environmental pressures considered most pressing by regional decision makers.

International audience; Over the past decade, the exponential growth in the production of biomass for energy use has raised concerns as to the environmental impacts of this type of land use, as well as the potential land-use changes (LUC) associated with an extension of agricultural land areas. Determining the environmental impacts of an expanding bioenergy sector requires reconstructing the chains of cause and effect from the determinants of land-use change (both direct and indirect) and land-use practices through to the impacts of those practices. Conducting an exhaustive literature review from 1975 to 2014, we identified 241 articles relevant to this causal chain, thus enabling an analysis of the environmental impacts of LUC for bioenergy. This chapter presents the results of a detailed literature analysis and literature review of the 52 articles within this corpus specifically addressing impacts on soils. The variation in soil organic carbon (SOC) is the most commonly used impact indicator, followed by soil loss to erosion and, to a lesser extent, the potential for environmental acidification as determined by life-cycle assessments. Background and transitional SOC levels during LUC affect the predictive value of estimated final SOC variations but are not generally accounted for in default static stock-difference approaches. Perennial crops tend to be better at maintaining or even improving SOC levels, but results vary according to pedoclimatic and agronomic conditions. The mechanisms involved notably include protection of the soil surface with a dense perennial cover and the limitation of tillage operations, especially deep plowing; accumulation of organic matter and SOC linked to biomass production, especially belowground production of rhizomes and deep, dense root systems; associated reductions in nutrient loss via runoff and erosion. Nevertheless, additional research is needed to improve our understanding of and ability to model the full range of processes underlying soil quality and LUC impacts on soil quality.

International audience; Many new damage oriented methods have recently been developed to address environmental consequences of water consumption in life cycle assessment (LCA). However, such methods can only partially be compared and combined, since their modelling structure and metrics are inconsistent. Moreover, they focus on specific water sources (e.g. river) and miss description of transport flows between water compartments (e.g. from river to atmosphere via evaporation) and regions (e.g. atmospheric advection). Consequently, they provide a partial regard of the local and global hydrological cycle and derived impacts on the environment. This paper proposes consensus-based guidelines for a harmonised development of the next generation of water consumption LCA indicators, with a focus on consequences of water consumption on ecosystem quality. To include the consideration of the multimedia water fate between compartments of the water cycle, we provide spatial regionalisation and temporal specification guidance. The principles and recommendations of the paper are applied to an illustrative case study. The guidelines set the basis of a more accurate, novel way of modelling water consumption impacts in LCA. Environmental relevance of this LCA impact category will improve. Yet, much research is needed to make the guidelines operational.

This chapter traces the genealogy of the concepts of value chain, supply chain, and their French equivalent filiere, and of the analyses based on this concept. It aims at an improved understanding of their scope and limitations in view of the challenges confronting sustainable development. Initially conceived to help formulate and evaluate industrial policies in the North, and subsequently development policies in the South, the concept of filiere encompasses a set of agents within an economic system with structural relationships that link the supply and demand of intermediate and final goods, and that have the power to influence and structure the economy concerned. The filiere was thus defined as a set of actors providing specific technical and economic functions in the process of producing and processing a good, from raw material to final product. This concept can be used to analyze the dynamics of integrating agriculture in agrifood and agro-industrial systems, measure the creation and distribution of wealth in these systems, and to undertake activities to support the development of technical and organizational innovations. In order to take the growing role of firms in the globalization of trade into account, a different approach, in terms of global value chains, conceptualizes relationships between actors by focusing on forms of governance and modalities of coordination through power relations and definition of standards. These two conceptual frameworks emphasize different aspects: structuring of productive systems in one, actor strategies in the other. However, they both participate in and embrace a logic of specialization and economic efficiency, in which issues of environmental and social sustainability often find little space. Life cycle assessment provides tools and methods to compensate for this lacuna, especially at the environmental level. However, an integrated analytical framework that takes the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development into account in a complementary manner remains to be developed.

International audience; The first tools to assess agri-chains focused on their economic aspects. Following requests from professionals from different agri-chains, CIRAD undertakes original research to develop methods for the environmental and social assessment of agri-chains. Indeed, although the production of food consumes resources and causes pollution, thus leading to various types of externalities, it remains an essential activity. It also generates positive or adverse social effects. Even though some large multinational companies wish to reduce their environmental impacts or improve their social impact, their desire or willingness is not sufficient. It is necessary to evaluate the environmental and social consequences of their actions in the most relevant manner possible. This chapter focuses on life cycle assessment methods because they are suitable for a chain-based reasoning and, due to their design, are the only methods that take the transfer of impacts into account. Since the pollution emitted by an agri-chain (or areas of consumption of non-renewable resources) can be spread out over several sites, the life cycle assessment method replaces the direct measurement of emissions. These are indirect assessment methods based on benchmarks stored in databases. Several configurations are possible in order to define boundaries (at least the spatial and temporal boundaries, but also that of affected actors in the case of a social life cycle assessment) of the system that will be studied by this type of analysis. The extent of change (marginal or extensive which modifies the system’s structure itself) also influences the determination of the system’s boundaries. The variety and sophistication of tools available for this type of assessment reflects the strong and ever increasing societal demand. The assessment addresses four key requirements: strengthening one’s market power, adjusting one’s action plan, acquiring knowledge in order to decide, and the need for self-assurance.

We performed a cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment (LCA) of a bio-based cosmetic cream containing Refined Palm Kernel Oil (RPKO). The objective was to investigate the importance of the RPKO production within the environmental impact of the cosmetic cream. We assumed a baseline scenario with best oil palm agricultural practices in Malaysia, and then tested different parameters, i.e. deforestation, peat soil drainage and improved effluent treatment, in order to check their influences. In the baseline scenario, transport of the cosmetic cream was the main contributing process (largest contribution for 11 out of 15 impact indicators). Contribution of the packaging of the cosmetic cream was also significant (largest for 2 out of 15). RPKO had a low impact contribution in the baseline scenario, albeit a much more critical one in the alternative scenarios. Deforestation and peat soil drainage (i.e. transformation and occupation) influenced two environmental indicators: Climate Change and Land Use. On Climate change indicator, deforestation caused an increase of about 9% of the cosmetic cream impacts and peat soil occupation an increase of 16%. On Land Use indicator, deforestation caused an increase of 3%, peat soil transformation and occupation caused increases of 938% and 41%, respectively. Methane capture from palm oil mill effluent treatment and conversion to electricity represented a low decrease of environmental impact of cosmetic cream (from −0.1% to −2.8%). This paper showed that the palm oil agricultural phase could have a non-negligible impact over the life-cycle of a cosmetic cream in case of deforestation and peat cultivation, despite its small contribution in both mass and economic terms.

This chapter concludes the part 4 of this book on Agrichains and Evaluation of Sustainability by highlighting the main messages and issues to consider for future research and design of evaluation methods.

Environmental impacts are based on various cause-and-effect mechanisms that link activities to emissions into the atmosphere and, subsequently, to quantitative or qualitative changes in the state of ecosystems and available resources. Assessing these impacts for an agri-chain becomes especially complex since it requires the integration at multiple levels of numerous processes contributing to several impact mechanisms. Fixing assessment objectives in advance is therefore essential in order to optimize the implementation of assessment methods and tools. Co-construction and collaboration with the agri-chain’s actors are also needed to increase knowledge on understanding and modelling impact mechanisms, their integration at different scales, and for a comprehensive assessment of sustainability in order to improve assessment methods and tools.

Urban agriculture, Life-cycle inventory,Typology,Cropping system data,Treatment frequency index,Nutrient budget; International audience; In sub-Saharan Africa, urban farmers have recently intensified the production of vegetables to cope with the increasing food demand. As a consequence, such an intensification may lead to potential risks for the environment and human health. There is therefore a need for an integrated evaluation of urban agricultural practices. Here, we studied tomato production in Benin cities. We measured performances and the environmental risks. We have monitored 12 cropping systems during 6 months and we calculated the pesticide treatment frequency index (TFI), the nutrient budgets, and the field emissions. Our results show that yields were low and variable, averaging at 9,533 kg.ha−1 and ranging from 0 to 21,163 kg.ha−1. The average TFI for pesticides was 8.9. The maximum TFI of 25 was observed for an insecticide applied weekly at 2.3 times the official rate. We observed an excess of the average nutrient budget of 120 kg N and 84 kg P. ha−1. In conclusion, our study of urban tomato production revealed poor practices and high risks for health and the environment.

The objective of the work reported here was to reduce the uncertainty on the greenhouse gas balances of biofuels using agro-ecosystem modeling at a high resolution over the Ile-de-France region in Northern France. The emissions simulated during the feedstock production stage were input to a life-cycle assessment of candidate biofuel pathways: bioethanol from wheat, sugar-beet and miscanthus, and biodiesel from oilseed rape. Compared to the widely-used methodology based on fixed emission factors, ecosystem modeling lead to 55–70% lower estimates for N2O emissions, emphasizing the importance of regional factors. The life-cycle GHG emissions of first-generation biofuels were 50–70% lower than fossil-based equivalents, and 85% lower for cellulosic ethanol. When including indirect land-use change effects, GHG savings became marginal for biodiesel and wheat ethanol, but were positive due to direct effects for cellulosic ethanol.

North-eastern Thailand is an essential production area for high-quality fragrant rice for domestic use and export. While rainfed conditions largely prevail, plans to extend irrigation are drafted. This article compares paddy rice production under irrigation and rainfed conditions. Techno-economic performances were analysed jointly with environ- mental impacts, based upon life cycle analysis, and energy and water use analyses. Data were collected in 2010 from 45 diverse rice cropping systems in the Lam Sieo Yai Basin, according to three systems, namely wet-season rain-fed (Rw), wet-season irrigation (Iw), and dry-season irrigation (Id) systems. Wide-ranging performances and impacts were observed, while cropping practices were relatively homogeneous. Differentiation of systems originated mostly from differences in yield, which were largely impacted by water supply. The results highlight the low performances and high impacts of Id systems. They require mostly blue water, while the two other systems rely primarily on green water. Id systems also require more energy and labour, due to increased water management needs. The productivity of most production factors was higher in Rw and Iw systems. Emissions proved relatively similar across systems, with the exception of CH 4 , which was markedly lower in Rw systems due to specific water and organic residue management. Id systems systematically emitted more nitrates, phosphates, and pesticides. Rw systems showed the lowest environmental impacts per ha and per kg of paddy rice produced. The average Global Warming Potential was 2.97 kg CO 2 -eq per kg rice in Rw systems, 4.87 in Iw systems, and 5.55 in Id systems. This article further discusses the results in view of contrasting perspectives, including societal objectives, farmer income and environmental integrity, and possible irrigation development in north-eastern Thailand.

Cet ouvrage traite des conditions et des modes de gestion de la culture du cotonnier, plus particulièrement en Afrique, de la semence à l'utilisation des produits, en se reposant sur les résultats de recherche. Des recommandations pratiques sont formulées à l'intention de tous les acteurs de la filière coton. Ainsi, l'intérêt d'améliorer la production du cotonnier et sa qualité est abordé sous tous les aspects de la culture par des spécialistes dans une approche systémique. Cet ouvrage propose au lecteur professionnel une aide à la décision en agronomie et en gestion des systèmes de culture, sans oublier les aspects phytosanitaires. Il informe également sur l'impact du changement climatique, sur les modalités de la transformation et de l'usage des produits et coproduits. Enfin, l'Analyse de cycle de vie appliquée à l'évaluation environnementale des systèmes cotonniers enrichit particulièrement la manière d'organiser et d'optimiser les différentes étapes de cette production d'importance mondiale. L'objectif de cet ouvrage est de proposer des pratiques agricoles et des recommandations pour l'avenir, contribuant ainsi à améliorer la culture du cotonnier et la qualité de ses produits. Rédigé dans un langage accessible, cet ouvrage est destiné à tous les professionnels de terrain.

Les impacts environnementaux reposent sur divers mécanismes de cause à effets reliant des activités à des émissions vers l'environnement, puis à des effets en termes de changements quantitatifs ou qualitatifs de l'état des écosystèmes et des ressources disponibles. L'évaluation de ces impacts pour une filière agricole est particulièrement complexe puisqu'elle nécessite l'intégration de diverses échelles et de nombreux processus contribuant à plusieurs mécanismes d'impact. Une démarche pour cibler en amont les objectifs est ainsi indispensable afin d'optimiser les efforts de mise en oeuvre des méthodes et des outils d'évaluation. Des travaux de co-construction avec les acteurs de la filière sont également nécessaires pour renforcer les connaissances sur la compréhension et la modélisation des mécanismes d'impact, leur intégration à différentes échelles et dans une évaluation complète de la durabilité, afin d'améliorer les méthodes et les outils d'évaluation.

According to FAO, animal production would contribute up to 18% to global anthropogenic green house gas (GHG) emissions. In the face of an increasing world population and demand in food products, more productive and more environmentally- friendly livestock systems have to be conceived. With that aim, non-renewable energy uses and GHG emissions of main animal productions (dairy cattle, beef cattle, pig, poultry and rabbit) were assessed in Reunion tropical island. Based on a method developed in mainland France, energy coefficients and emission factors were redefined to include specificities of the local context and livestock systems. The studied sample comprised 195 farms, i.e. more than 25% of farms overseen by local cooperatives. The study highlights the positive correlation between environmental inefficiency (non renewable energy uses, and GHG emissions per kilogram of animal product) and zootechnical inefficiency (quantity of concentrate feed consumed per kilogram of animal product). It is thus possible to intensify ecologically animal productions. Similar studies are rare in countries of the South. Their development supposes even more drastic methodological adaptations than those conducted in Reunion so as to evaluate little- mechanized low-input mixed systems, where livestock activities are multifunctional and use various energy types.

LCAs (life cycle assessments) are often based on average data to produce a generic evaluation of a good or service. However, ignoring variability and induced uncertainty of LCA results reduces their significance, especially when dealing with agricultural processes that present high natural fluctuations. The objective of the study was to explore the robustness of LCA results when accounting for variable emissions data, illustrated by the case of slurry application techniques. Four application techniques were compared: band spreading, broadcast spreading, harrowing after surface application and direct injection. On the basis of the normalisation results, acidification, eutrophication and global warming potentials were selected. To estimate field nitrogen emissions, an original approach was developed based on relative nitrogen loss factors for each technique from a literature review. The calculated field emissions from different soil and climate conditions were considered equally probable and were propagated into a range of LCA result using the Monte Carlo method. Injection and harrowing both showed reduced acidification and eutrophication potentials compared to band spreading and broadcast spreading but had larger global warming potentials, which could be particularly important with injection. Harrowing consequently appeared as the best compromise. Despite the large range of LCA results, robust conclusions could be drawn. To achieve a more refined comparison between the techniques, the use of process-based models in contrasted situations is suggested.

As one of the most comprehensive environmental assessment methodologies, life cycle assessment enables evaluation of the environmental impacts of anthropogenic activities along a supply chain. Its implementation raises many scientific questions. In the case of tropical cropping systems, researchers are working to understand and model environmental emissions based on the diversity of environments and systems. They are also focusing on the relationship between emissions and impacts. Cropping system life cycle assessments show that the impact on climate change varies by crop, environment and type of practice. Life cycle assessment can help guide production methods so as to reduce their environmental impacts. But the choices are not always clearcut.

Identifying the environmental hot spots of agriculture is crucial in a context where humanity has to produce more food and pollute less. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a powerful tool to evaluate the environmental impacts of agricultural systems, but is still fraught with shortcomings, notably for the evaluation of impacts of freshwater use and of salinisation of water and soil. The core complexity lies in the double status of water and soil resources in LCA which are both a resource and a compartment. The three questions answered by the thesis were: How to better assess the impacts associated with water and salts fluxes? What model should be developed for a relevant inventory of field water and salts fluxes? Is the developed model operational for an LCA study on a perennial crop? The first question was answered through a literature review on salinisation impacts in LCA. It revealed the main environmental mechanisms of salinisation, the factors involved, and discussed the soil and water status, notably through a consistent definition of the technosphere and ecosphere boundary. To answer the second question, a critical analysis of water inventory and agri-food LCA databases showed their inadequacy for the LCA-based ecodesign of cropping systems: they provide estimates of theoretical water consumed, rely on data and methods presenting limitations, and do not support the calculation of both consumptive and degradative water use impacts. For the LCA-based ecodesign of cropping systems, the inventory of water flows should be based on a model simulating evapotranspiration, deep percolation and runoff accounting for crop specificities, pedo-climatic conditions and agricultural managements. For herbaceous crops, the FAO Aquacrop model constitutes a relevant and operational model, but no dedicated model is available to-date for perennials. To fill this gap, a tailored and simple model, so called E.T., was elaborated for the inventory of field water and salt flows for annual and perennial crops. The model combines daily water and salts balances, accounting for soil, climate, agricultural practices and possible crop water and salinity stresses. A first testing of the E.T. model demonstrated its discriminating power for agricultural practices and its robustness. Its validity domain can be extended and its accuracy increased thanks to the recommendations provided. E.T. was also tested in the LCA of a Mandarin grown in Morocco. For most impact categories, electricity use for irrigation was the main contributor revealing a water-energy nexus. Water use had a major contribution to damages for all areas of protection. Overall, to further improve the assessment of impacts due to water use (including salinization impacts) we recommend using a more mechanistic and hydrological approach.

International audience; Dans cet article les auteurs traitent des conséquences de l’alimentation sur l’environnement en termes d’impacts (tels que les émissions de gaz à effet de serre). Les aspects nutritionnels seront également traités comme des compromis entre choix alimentaires permettant de suivre les recommandations nutritionnelles, tout en limitant les effets néfastes sur l’environnement. Il existe d’autres aspects importants liés à la durabilité des filières qui pourraient être développés mais qui ne serons pas abordés ici : la perte de la biodiversité, ou encore l’empreinte eau (water footprint) ou le phénomène des pertes et gaspillages alimentaires. De plus, la durabilité « sociale » des filières, concernant par exemple les conditions des travailleurs, mériterait également d’être traitée.

International audience; Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) faces with spatial differentiation issues that have been discussed for years in LCA community. A 77 papers review reveals that the most commonly studied one is the lack of spatial consideration in the environmental impact characterization step and especially for local and regional impacts as eutrophication. This issue was the first to be identified by Potting and Hauschild (1997). More recently number of developments aim to include spatial and temporal information during the Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) carrying out. If theorical methodologies are available for LCI and characterization steps, we only found practical ones for the two others LCA steps (Goal and scope definition and Results interpretation) despite identified issues (to overcome multifunctionality). This fact can be seen as a paradox as for the life cycle thinking and the iterative, holistic and global aspects of LCA. That is why we propose to develop a conceptual framework to consider the spatial differentiation all over the four steps of LCA in a continous and heterogeneous way. This framework is called “the spatialization continuum”. The first steps of the building of such a conceptual framework consist in the identification of the existing theorical and practical considerations of spatial differentiation in LCA and the potentiality to combine them towards a continous methodology. Two questions are explored: -For each step of LCA, what is necessary to ensure the spatial differentiation consideration? -What does a development on a precise step involve to the other ones? The conceptual framework also set the objective to examine different tools that appear to be indispensible when dealing with spatial information and their potential coupling with LCA methodology and practices. Among these tools, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are the most commonly used. However GIS appear not sufficient to overcome all the spatial differentiation related issues. In fact the spatialization continuum should ask for multiple external tools, methodologies or concepts. Therefore, the spatialization continuum materializes as a “multi-plugin” that will call for different solutions depending on the concerned issue and the required level of robustness. In this context, it differs from the classification of strategies to overcome LCA limitations proposed by Udo de Haes (2004): LCA extension, Hybrid LCA and Toolbox. We decided to call this new strategy the multi-plugin LCA.; Besoin de différenciation spatiale tout au long des 4 étapes de l'ACV.

L'analyse de cycle de vie est l'une des méthodologies d'évaluation environnementale les plus complètes. Elle permet d'évaluer les impacts environnementaux des activités anthropiques tout au long d'une filière. Sa mise en oeuvre soulève de nombreuses questions scientifiques. Dans le cas des système de culture tropicaux, les chercheurs travaillent sur la compréhension et la modélisation des émissions vers f environnement en fonction de la diversité des milieux et des systèmes. Ils travaillent également sur les liens entre ces émissions et les impacts. Les analyses de cycle de vie des systèmes de cultures révèlent que l'impact sur le changement climatique varie en fonction des cultures, des milieux et des pratiques. L'analyse de cycle de vie permet d'orienter les modes de production pour diminuer leurs impacts environnementaux. Mais les choix ne sont pas toujours évidents.

La transition écologique nécessite une connaissance des impacts environnementaux des produits mis sur le mar-ché. Concernant les produits alimentaires, la perfor-mance environnementale de la phase agricole est parti-culièrement importante. L'Analyse du Cycle de Vie est la méthode privilégiée afin d'évaluer l'impact des produits sur l'ensemble de la chaîne de production. C'est un outil incontournable pour développer un marché européen de produits durables en faisant le lien entre les modes de production et de consommation. Cet article analyse les impacts environnementaux de nombreux produits agricoles français, du berceau à la sortie de la ferme, par une Analyse du Cycle de Vie multicritère. L'étude fournit des ordres de grandeur pour différentes catégories de produits et types d'impacts. La variabilité d'impact pour des produits " similaires " issus de différents systèmes de production est étudiée. La comparaison entre pro-ductions conventionnelles et biologiques montre des résultats variables selon les produits et les impacts. Quelques pratiques sont à l'origine de plusieurs impacts, indiquant des leviers d'action communs dans la perspec-tive d'une amélioration environnementale globale (pro-ductivité, fertilisation, alimentation animale, gestion des déjections…). L'article conclut par une discussion sur l'utilisation potentielle de ces données dans différents projets d'écoconception, et en lien avec la promotion d'un système alimentaire plus durable.

Pour évaluer les fonctions nécessaires à la vie humaine, l'Analyse de Cycle de Vie (ACV) s'impose comme méthode d'évaluation consensuelle au niveau international. L'ACV permet d'évaluer l'ensemble des impacts environnementaux associés à la réalisation d'une fonction (produit, service) sur tout son cycle de vie. Appliquer l'ACV aux fonctions des systèmes agricoles reste un défi en lien avec la diversité des systèmes de production et de leurs fonctions, le double statut du sol qui appartient à la fois au système productif et à l'environnement, à la nature diffuse et variable des pollutions au champ et à l'importance des impacts régionaux comme l'eutrophisation et la consommation de ressources naturelles : eau et terre. Si les questions scientifiques de fond sont globalement les mêmes que l'on cherche à appliquer l'ACV à des systèmes de production animale en zone tempérée ou à des systèmes horticoles au sud, l'ampleur du défi est cependant bien plus vaste dans le second cas. Ces systèmes, souvent mal encadrés, parfois mal optimisés, toujours peu renseignés sont d'une grande diversité et leurs interactions avec l'environnement sont moins étudiées qu'en contexte tempéré. Dans le cadre de mes travaux sur les systèmes de production porcine, j'ai contribué à hiérarchiser les sources de variation des impacts qu'elles soient d'ordre technique (cahier des charge, qualité des pratiques) ou d'ordre méthodologique avec l'exploration de l'influence du devenir des nitrates dans les bassins versants sur les indicateurs eutrophisation et changement climatique. Pour réaliser ces évaluations, j'ai mis au point avec mes collègues des méthodes d'estimation des flux au champ et en atelier animal permettant une évaluation cohérente de systèmes contrastés. En production laitière en Nouvelle Zélande, j'ai notamment montré l'influence de l'intensification des systèmes sur la dégradation de leur éco-efficience et l'influence du mode de représentation de l'incertitude des paramètres sur le calcul de l'incertitude des résultats d'ACV par simulation Monte-Carlo. Sur les systèmes horticoles au sud, le premier enjeu est de caractériser proprement la diversité des systèmes et de produire leur inventaire avec peu ou pas de données préalables. Sur système pérenne, nous avons montré l'importance de prendre en compte toute la vie du verger et formulé des recommandations. Sur la tomate en zone urbaine au Bénin où aucune donnée n'était disponible, Aurélie Perrin a utilisé la typologie à dires d'expert pour échantillonner ses parcelles et produit un protocole de collecte de données d'inventaire fiables et représentatives de la fonction étudiée. Si l'usage de modèles mécanistes tels que STICS permet une exploration des sources de variations des émissions au champ et la prise en compte plus fine des conditions de sol, de climat et de pratiques, il appelle, pour être utile aux praticiens d'ACV, une simplification autour des paramètres principaux et une validation ultime par des données de flux mesurés. Pour l'avenir proche, j'ai construit mon projet scientifique autour de deux axes. Le premier est un projet collectif et pluridisciplinaire d'évaluation et d'amélioration de la performance des systèmes maraîchers en Afrique de l'Ouest où les déterminants de la performance des systèmes aux niveaux exploitation et parcelle seront explorés et une méthode d'estimation des flux de pesticides tenant compte des spécificités du contexte sera développée pour mieux évaluer d'éventuelles innovations sur la gestion des bio-agresseurs. Le second axe porté par Sandra Payen dans le cadre de sa thèse et d'un futur post-doctorat s'intéresse aux impacts liés à l'usage d'eau douce avec un travail sur la modélisation des flux de sels et d'eau à la parcelle et de leurs impacts associés tels que la salinisation.

International audience; The FLONUDEP project carried out an environmental LCA « from cradle to grave » of processed tomatoes made in France and Turkey. We compared the environmental impact of tomato sauce made in France with French tomato paste, with that made with Turkish tomato paste. Data have been collected through surveys among a sample of farms (France=4; Turkey=4), processing plants (France= 2; Turkey=4), logistic organization (France=2), 1 supermarket and consumers (n=800), Findings show that French tomato sauce is slightly less impacting than the Turkish one for GHG emissions and human toxicity, whereas results are similar for eutrophication. Critical points are mainly packaging, energy used and steam production at plant level, fertilization and phytosanitary treatments at agricultural level, and finally, consumer behavior (shopping by car) and packaging recycling.

4th European Conference on Sludge Management, Izmir, TUR, 26-/05/2014 - 27/05/2014; International audience; This paper aims to assess the main French sludge treatment and disposal routes using Life Cycle Assessment in order to highlight which system is the most suitable from an environmental point of view. System boundaries include thickening up to the disposal route and the functional unit is one dry matter ton of treated and disposed sludge. Results are provided for thickening, dewatering and stabilization processes coupled with a disposal route. Major points highlighted by this study are the strong impact of the hypotheses used on LCA results as well as the necessity to produce data to fulfil the inventory step.

Purpose Recent life cycle assessment studies for vegetable products have identified the agricultural stage as one of the most important contributors to the environmental impacts for these products, while vegetable production systems are characterized by specific but also widely diverse production conditions. In this context, a review aiming at comparing the potential impacts of vegetable products and analyzing the relevance of the methods and data used for the inventory of the farm stage appeared necessary. Methods Ten papers published in peer-reviewed scientific journals or ISO-compliant reports were selected. First, a presentation of the selected papers was done to compare the goal and scope and the life cycle inventory data to the related sections in the ILCDHandbook. Second, a quantitative review of input flows and life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) results (global warming, eutrophication, and acidification) was based on a cropping system typology and on a classification per product group. Third, an in-depth analysis of the methods used to estimate field emissions of reactive nitrogen was proposed. Results and discussion The heated greenhouse system types showed the greatest global warming potential. The giant bean group showed the greatest acidification and eutrophication potentials per kilogram of product, while the tomato group showed the greatest acidification and eutrophication potentials per unit of area. Main sources of variations for impacts across systems were yields and inputs variations and system expansion rules. Overall, the ability to compare the environmental impact for these diverse vegetable products from cradle-toharvest was hampered by (1) weaknesses regarding transparency of goal and scope, (2) a lack of representativeness and completeness of data used for the field stage, and (3) heterogeneous and inadequate methods for estimating field emissions. In particular, methods to estimate reactive nitrogen emissions were applied beyond their validity domain. Conclusions and recommendations This first attempt at comparing the potential impacts of vegetable products pinpointed several gaps in terms of data and methods to reach representative LCIA results for the field production stage. To better account for the specificities of vegetable cropping systems and improve the overall quality of their LCA studies, our key recommendations were (1) to include systematically phosphorus, water, and pesticide fluxes and characterize associated impacts, such as eutrophication, toxicity, and water deprivation; (2) to better address space and time representativeness for field stage inventory data through better sampling procedures and reporting transparency; and (3) to use best available methods and when possible more mechanistic tools for estimating Nr emissions.

Le renforcement des préoccupations vis-à-vis des problématiques de développement, de bien-être des populations et de qualité des écosystèmes, génère de nouvelles pressions économiques (labels, cahiers des charges, etc.), normatives (règlements, fiscalité), et de la société civile (consom'action, boycott), et impose aux entreprises de prendre en compte ces problématiques, c'est-à-dire d'identifier, d'évaluer, et d'améliorer leurs impacts. De nombreux outils existent pour évaluer les impacts des chaînes de produits mais seules les méthodes d'Analyse de Cycle de Vie permettent d'avoir une évaluation multicritère et globale, et de rendre compte des transferts d'impacts d'une étape à l'autre du cycle de vie et d'un impact à l'autre. Le développement de l'ACV sociale est vivement souhaité et réclamé par les acteurs. La problématique de cette thèse a consisté à s'interroger sur les principes d'élaboration d'une telle méthode, son cadre conceptuel, théorique et méthodologique. Les besoins de recherche identifiés étant nombreux, les contributions spécifiques de cette thèse ont été triples : i) proposer un nouveau cadre théorique et conceptuel adressant les problématiques de bien-être et de développement, ii) élaborer une relation permettant d'évaluer les impacts de la création d'activité économique et de revenus sur la santé des populations, le " pathway Preston " iii) proposer un cadre méthodologique articulant le Modèle à Capitaux Multiples et le concept de capabilités. Les filières agroalimentaires et plus particulièrement les filières d'importation de fruits et légumes tropicaux, ont servi de cadre empirique à ce travail.

Chapitre 11; International audience; Although the conventional farming system (CV) for apple production remains the common practice worldwide, the organic farming system (OF) is becoming increasingly important. Few global assessments of the environmental impacts of organic orchard systems are currently available. In this work, we analyse the weak and strong points of the environmental performance of the growing phase of two organic and one conventional apple orchard, using a pluri-annual dataset from experimental orchard systems located in the Middle Rhone valley in France, with life cycle analysis (LCA). LCA, also referred to as cradle-to-grave analysis, allows a quantitative and global evaluation of an orchard’s environmental performance. The analysis was performed using the SALCA (Swiss Agricultural Life Cycle Assessment) method (SALCA-Crop V3.1, adapted for pome fruit) and included relevant impact categories based on characterisation models derived mainly from the EDIP97 and CML01 methods, as well as those developed by Agroscope (ART). Seven impact categories that included ecotoxicity and human toxicity, as well as energy consumption and other environmental impact categories, were calculated and are discussed here. The OF systems appeared to have less of an impact than the conventional system, considering the surface-based functional unit (ha/year). However, the basic substitution of conventional with organic inputs or mechanised activities was not sufficient to radically improve the overall environmental performance of the orchard systems. These results need several years of full production to be validated.

Document élaboré dans le cadre du projet ANR : FLONUDEP Promotion de filières s'inscrivant dans le développement durable à travers un outil d'aide à la décision