Eco-efficiency of agricultural water systems: Methodological approach and assessment at meso-level scale

Economic, environmental and social efficiency and effectiveness development in the sustainable crop agricultural sector: A systematic in-depth analysis review

Multi-dimensional inclusion of economic, environmental, and social sustainability spheres together are the most global concerns of the agricultural crop sector. Therefore, optimizing waste and natural resources guides researchers and policymakers to structure actions and strategies to attain sustainability. Several studies have been published around the world to choose between focusing on eco-efficiency or eco-effectiveness in different aspects. This work aims to systematically apply an updated review to critically assess the agricultural research articles' contributions among the assessment of those methods, models or tools, as well as a quantitative and qualitative in-depth analysis review to classify them, according to their mapping, functions, strengths, weaknesses, and logical relationships for the evaluation in the crop agricultural sector, which is expected to be needed in future to better understand the research gaps and select the appropriate methods for sustainability evaluation from different spheres (ecology, economy, and sociology). Of 242 peer-reviewed records from 2018 to the beginning of 2023, 135 reviews and articles gathered from Web of Science and Scopus meet the criteria to be examined. Our analysis revealed that the number of reviews is limited to approximately 4.5 %; most of the case studies were carried out in countries, such as China (36 %) and Brazil (6 %), and continents such as Europe (16 %). Depending on considered aspects, most studies evaluate the efficiency, effectiveness and derivatives using a set of tools, varying between the managerial tools applied for the macro-level structuration (DPSIR, EMA, and LCA) and mathematical tools applied for the micro-level quantification, subdivided into the visualization methods (GIS), and the optimization methods (DEA, SFA, MILP, FO). Thanks to their multifunctionality in considering different aspects of input, output and influence factors variables, the in-depth analysis study suggests the application of data envelopment and stochastic analysis to carry out a multidisciplinary evaluation for the socio-eco-efficiency or the socio-eco-effectiveness.

Analysis of the Spatial Differentiation and Promotion Potential for Agricultural Eco-Efficiency-Evidence of Pollution's Strong Disposability

Agricultural eco-efficiency is an important indicator used to measure agriculture's high-quality and sustainable development. Therefore, this paper uses the EBM-Super-ML method with strong disposability of undesired output to calculate Chinese agricultural eco-efficiency and uses a geographical detector to measure the driving force of the factor. The research conclusions are mainly reflected in three aspects. Firstly, from the perspective of eco-efficiency changes, the overall mean value of agricultural eco-efficiency increased by 3.5%, and the regional heterogeneity is significant, with the fastest growth in the eastern region. Secondly, the results of driving force analysis show that the main driving factors of agricultural eco-efficiency divergence are capital inputs, total carbon emissions, labor inputs, agricultural film residues, fertilizer use, and pesticide residues, with driving forces of 0.43, 0.37, 0.34, 0.31, 0.28, and 0.20, respectively. Finally, from the perspective of eco-efficiency improvement potential, the mean value of output improvement potential is 5%, and the input factor is 7%. Among the non-desired outputs, the reduction rate of agricultural films can reach 40%. Among the input factors, labor input has the highest potential for intensive use, while agricultural machinery has a negative effect. Therefore, strengthening the development of the agricultural service industry is of great significance to improve the utilization rate of mechanical equipment and reduce the undesired output of agriculture.

Agricultural Eco-Efficiency Response and Its Influencing Factors from the Perspective of Rural Population Outflowing: A Case Study in Qinan County, China

Agriculture is the source of human clothing and food, but it also brings negative externalities to the environment. The outflow of the rural population is one of the factors for changes in the characteristics of the rural population. Farmers' decisions on agricultural production can affect agricultural ecological efficiency. Therefore, it is necessary to study the relationship between the two in rural development. Taking Qin'an County in the Loess Hilly Region of central Gansu, China, as an example, this paper analyzed the demographic characteristics and the evolution characteristics of agricultural eco-efficiency under the background of rural population outflowing, and the impact of the former on the latter, based on the panel statistical data of 17 villages and towns from 2001 to 2020. The results show that (1) From 2001 to 2020, the non-agricultural level of Qin'an County's labor force showed an upward fluctuation trend. The level of aging was relatively stable, and the per capita disposable income was significantly increased. (2) From 2001 to 2020, the agricultural eco-efficiency of Qin'an County showed a wavy change, but there were some towns and villages that have not been effectively developed. The regional differences are significantly different. (3) The non-agriculturalization level of the labor force promotes agricultural eco-efficiency through the direct effect rather than the space spillover effect. The positive effect of aging on agricultural eco-efficiency was mainly reflected through direct effect rather than spatial spillover effect. Per capita, disposable income has a significant positive spatial spillover effect on agricultural eco-efficiency. Finally, this paper provides a scientific reference for promoting the improvement of agricultural eco-efficiency and sustainable development. This is of great theoretical and practical significance for the realization of rural revitalization.

Evaluating the Spatiotemporal Characteristics of Agricultural Eco-Efficiency Alongside China's Carbon Neutrality Targets

Agriculture has the dual effect of contributing to both carbon emissions and sequestration, and thus plays a critical role in mitigating global climate change and achieving carbon neutrality. Agricultural eco-efficiency (AEE) is an important measurement through which we can assess the efforts toward reduced emissions and increased sequestration. The purpose of this study was to understand the relationship between China's target of carbon neutrality and AEE through an evaluative model, so as to improve AEE and ultimately achieve sustainable agricultural development. The Super-SBM model scientifically measures the AEE based on provincial panel data collected between 2000 and 2020. We selected kernel density function and spatial distribution to explore the spatial and temporal evolutionary trends, and used a Tobit model to identify the drivers of AEE. The research shows that (1) China's agricultural system functions as a net carbon sink, with all provinces' agricultural carbon sequestration levels recorded as higher than their carbon emissions from 2000 to 2020. (2) Despite sequestration levels, the level of AEE in China is not high enough, and the average efficiency level from 2000 to 2020 is 0.7726, showing an overall trend where AEE decreased at first and then increased. (3) The AEE of each province is clearly polarized; there are obvious core-periphery characteristics and spatial distribution of clustered contiguous areas. Central provinces generally have lower efficiency, eastern and northeastern provinces have higher efficiency, and northeastern provinces always remain in the high-efficiency group. (4) Influencing factors show that urbanization, upgrading of industrial structure, financial support for agriculture, and mechanization have a significant positive impact on AEE. These findings have important implications for the promotion of the low-carbon green development of Chinese agriculture.

Spatiotemporal characteristics and influencing factors of agricultural eco-efficiency in Jilin agricultural production zone from a low carbon perspective

Agricultural eco-efficiency is a meaningful index that assesses agricultural sustainable development. Based on the super SBM-DEA approach incorporating agricultural carbon emissions and panel data regression, this study evaluates agricultural eco-efficiency and investigates the influencing factors in the agricultural production zone of Jilin Province. The empirical results show the following. (1) During the observation period, the average agricultural eco-efficiency exhibits a flat "M-shaped" fluctuating trend, a trend of fluctuant growth with phase characteristics, and the agricultural eco-efficiency of each county still has much room for improvement. (2) Significant spatial differences exist in agricultural eco-efficiency across counties. All of the studied counties, except for Nong'an, Huadian, Lishu, Yitong, Gongzhuling, and Qianguo, need to change their input and output structure to optimize agricultural eco-efficiency. (3) The panel data regression estimation results indicate that the agricultural technology extension level, multiple-crop index, agricultural economic development level, agricultural technology extension level, and urbanization level have close correlations with agricultural eco-efficiency. (4) The research findings have important implications for policy makers formulating agricultural environmental policies in accordance with the local conditions of various counties.

Analysis of the spatial characteristics and influencing factors of agricultural eco-efficiency: evidence from Anhui Province, China, during the period 2011-2018

Sustainable agriculture is important for preserving environmental health and simultaneously gaining economic profits while maintaining social and economic equity. One way to evaluate sustainable agriculture is by studying agricultural eco-efficiency (AEE). Hence, this study constructed a data-driven method to evaluate and optimize AEE with the aim of providing a basis for improving the sustainable development of regional agriculture. Sixteen cities in Anhui Province, China, were considered in the study, and the variables used were agricultural resource inputs, environmental pollution, and agricultural economic development. Agricultural non-point source pollution (NPSP) emissions were considered the undesired output to build an AEE evaluation index system. Furthermore, a data envelopment analysis (DEA) model was established to analyse AEE from the static and dynamic perspectives. The spatial development and the temporal and spatial characteristics of AEE were also analysed. In addition, we applied a random effect (RE) panel Tobit model to quantitatively analyse the influencing factors of AEE from the input perspective and then proposed reasonable suggestions for improving the sustainable development of regional agriculture. Our findings show that the overall agricultural development in the 16 cities in Anhui Province has been continuously improving, even though there is an agglomeration of spatial development in some regions. In conclusion, this study provides suggestions and references for policy makers and agricultural practitioners regarding how to improve regional AEE and promote the sustainable development of the regional agricultural economy.

Economic and Environmental Aspects of Agriculture in the EU Countries

The analysis of the economic efficiency of agriculture has been the subject of numerous studies. An economically efficient agricultural sector is not always environmentally efficient. Agriculture is a large emitter of greenhouse gases. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change states that food production and agriculture are responsible for 21–37% of total global CO2 emissions. Due to the comprehensive assessment of the agricultural efficiency, it is worthwhile to apply to its measurement an integrated approach based on economic, energy and environmental aspects. These aspects were the main reasons for undertaking this research. The purpose of the study was to determine the economic, energy and environmental efficiency of agriculture in the EU Member States in 2019. The environmental analyses relate to the period 1990–2019. A total of 26 member states of the European Union (excluding Malta and Luxembourg) were selected for research. The sources of materials were Eurostat and the European Environmental Agency. This study was based on the Data Envelopment Analysis method, and used the DEA model focused on minimizing inputs. The research also adopts energy productivity and greenhouse gas emission efficiency indicators. The DEA model features the following variables: one effect (value of agricultural production) and four inputs (land, labour, use of fertilizers and use of energy). It was found that seven out of the 26 studied EU countries have efficient agriculture. The efficient agriculture group included The Netherlands, Denmark, Greece, Cyprus, the United Kingdom, Italy and Ireland. Based on the DEA method, benchmarks have been defined for countries with inefficient agriculture. On the basis of these benchmarks for inefficient agricultural sectors, it was possible to determine how they could improve efficiency to achieve the same results with fewer inputs. This issue is particularly important in the context of sustainable agricultural development. In the next stage of the research, the analysis of economic and energy efficiency was combined with the analysis of GHG emission efficiency in agriculture. Four groups of countries have been distinguished: eco-efficiency leaders, eco-efficiency followers, environmental slackers, eco-efficiency laggards. The leaders of the classification were The Netherlands, Italy, Greece, Cyprus and Portugal.

Exploring the eco-efficiency of cultivated land utilization and its influencing factors in China's Yangtze River Economic Belt, 2001-2018

Rapid urbanization in China has worsened the sustainable utilization of limited cultivated land resources, which seriously threatens food security and ecological security. To realize maximum benefits and minimize environmental pollution, the eco-efficiency of cultivated land utilization (ECLU) is becoming a vital indicator in weighing the rationality of regional land use. However, conceptualization of the ECLU remains lacking, while assessments of this indicator are still incomplete. This lack of information may inhibit planning guideline for the sustainable development of cultivated land resources. Thus, this study attempts to fill this gap by customizing a new conceptual index system for the ECLU and measuring it using the slack-based measure with undesirable output (SBM-Undesirable) model in the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) during the period 2001-2018. Spatial econometric models were used to further analyze the influencing factors of the ECLU. The average ECLU value in the YREB declined from 2001 to 2004, and then rapidly trended upward in 2005-2018. The lower reaches had the highest efficiency, followed by the middle and upper reaches, with respective values of 0.494, 0.628, and 0.683. The spatial-temporal pattern of the ECLU reveals that the number of areas with low and medium-low efficiency decreased gradually, while the number of areas with medium-high and high efficiency increased continuously. The magnitude and direction of influencing factors indicates that socioeconomic development level, agricultural science and technology investments, carbon emission reducing, and agricultural pollution control could effectively improve the ECLU. These findings have important implications for promoting high-efficient, low-carbon utilization of cultivated land resources and sustainable regional development in China.

Reclaimed Water for Vineyard Irrigation in a Mediterranean Context: Life Cycle Environmental Impacts, Life Cycle Costs, and Eco-Efficiency

The agricultural sector in the Mediterranean region, is increasingly using reclaimed water as an additional source for irrigation. However, there is a limited number of case studies about product-based life cycle analysis to ensure that the overall benefits of reclaimed water do indeed outweigh the impacts. The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Costing (LCC) methods are used in this study to investigate the environmental impacts and costs of vineyard cropping systems when tertiary reclaimed water is used as a supplementary source of irrigation water (integrated system). The conventional production system utilizing 100% groundwater was used as a reference system. As a proxy for sustainability, eco-efficiency, which combines economic and environmental performance, was assessed. The LCA revealed that the integrated system could reduce the net environmental impact by 23.8% due to lower consumption of irrigation water (−50%), electricity (−27.7%), and chemical fertilizers (−22.6%). Nevertheless, trade-offs between economics and the environment occurred as an integrated system is associated with higher life cycle costs and lower economic returns due to lower crop yield (−9.1%). The combined eco-efficiency assessment (ratio of economic value added to total environmental impact) revealed that the integrated system outperformed in terms of eco-efficiency by 12.6% due to lower environmental impacts. These results confirmed that reclaimed water could help to ensure an economically profitable yield with net environmental benefits. Our results provided an up-to-date and consistent life cycle analysis contributing to the creation of a valuable knowledge base for the associated costs and benefits of vineyard cultivation with treated wastewater.

Evaluating Irrigation Efficiency with Performance Indicators: A Case Study of Citrus in the East of Spain

Improving water efficiency in farming systems is one of the major challenges of these decades. Water scarcity due to climate change, together with the increasing demand of food, is leading experts from around the world find appropriate indicators for water-use efficiency. In this paper we propose and test different indicators for service delivery performance, productive efficiency, and economic efficiency. Since the characteristics of the studied area and the citrus cropping system in the East of Spain are particular, we include in our analysis two other variables which are key to understanding the changes in the indicators: the obtained productivity, and the applied irrigation. The indicators and these two variables are tested with the information provided by farmers of citrus orchards belonging to an irrigation community from the East of Spain. The effect of different factors, such as cultivated varieties, type of farmer (professional or non-professional), or plantations’ size, are evaluated against the productivity and irrigation performance of the evaluated orchards. The effect of excess of irrigation on the indicators is also studied with the previous factors. Finally, an artificial intelligence system is used to predict productive efficiency of an orchard, based on the size and the water supply. Among the proposed indicators, the service delivery performance indicators came out to be the least useful and might provoke overirrigation due to the lack of accuracy of the data used for its calculation. The productive and economic efficiency indicators have been useful to illustrate the remarkable effect that excess of irrigation has on water efficiency, since a reduction of 66% of productive efficiency is found for some of the analysed varieties. On other cases, a reduction of 50% in economic efficiency is detected due to the excess of irrigation. Moreover, the excess of irrigation implied higher economic efficiency in only one of the evaluated varieties.

How Much Is the Eco-Efficiency of Agricultural Production in West China? Evidence from the Village Level Data

This study evaluates the eco-efficiency of agriculture in Pupiao Town, in the Yunnan province of China, through micro-level research. The term "eco-efficiency" refers to the efficiency with which ecological resources are used to meet human needs. Interviews and field research were conducted to collect the data of the 23 villages from 2016 to 2018. The Data Envelopment Analysis model (DEA) was used for data analysis. The results were as follows: (1) The eco-efficiency scores of Pupiao Town had considerable spatial heterogeneity, exhibiting a general trend of higher in the middle and lower in the east and west, which suggested eco-efficiency may be correlated with topography and transportation. (2) The value of eco-efficiency for the entire town had considerable areas for improvement and showed a slow-growth trend. (3) Fertilizers, pesticides, agricultural diesel, agricultural carbon emission, and non-point source pollution had a significant impact on eco-efficiency, followed by agricultural labor and arable land. (4) Agricultural chemicals were primary determinants affecting eco-efficiency. Most of the factors had a stronger effect on the eastern and western regions. The study suggests that transportation should be improved to promote the conveyance of market information and the application of more efficient and productive farm methods. The most important way is to improve effective utilization and to reduce the amount of agricultural chemicals. In addition, it is necessary to offer technical training and help to support farmers in upgrading their farm operations.

Improving Policy Evidence Base for Agricultural Sustainability and Food Security: A Content Analysis of Life Cycle Assessment Research

Life cycle assessment is a widespread method for measuring and monitoring the environmental impacts of production processes, thereby allowing the comparison of business-as-usual with more ecological scenarios. Life cycle assessment research can support evidence-based policy making by comparing and communicating the environmental impacts of agricultural and food systems, informing about the impact of mitigating interventions and monitoring sectoral progress towards sustainable development goals. This article aims at improving the contribution of science to evidence-based policies for agricultural sustainability and food security, while facilitating further research, by delivering a content-analysis based literature review of life cycle assessment research in agricultural and food economics. Results highlight that demand-side and system-level approaches need further development, as policies need to support redesigned agricultural systems and newly conceived dietary guidelines, which combine environmental protection and health benefits, without reducing productivity. Similarly, more research effort towards consequential life cycle assessment and multidimensional assessment may benefit policy makers by considering the rebound effects associated with the large-scale implementation of impact-mitigating interventions. Promising interventions involve the promotion of waste circularization strategies, which could also improve the profitability of agriculture. For effective policy making towards agricultural sustainability and food security worldwide, countries with the greatest expected population growth and raise of urbanization rates need more attention by researchers.

Assessment of a Smartphone Application for Real-Time Irrigation Scheduling in Mediterranean Environments

The suitability of cloud-based irrigation technologies remains questionable due to limited information on their evaluation in the field. This study focussed on the on-field assessment of a smartphone irrigation scheduling tool—Bluleaf®—with respect to traditional water application practices. Bluleaf® uses weather, crop, soil, and irrigation system data to support a farmer’s decision on the timing and amounts of irrigation. The smartphone application was tested in Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, on durum wheat, a strategic Mediterranean crop, during the 2017 and 2018 growing seasons. The simulation results on soil water balance were in “acceptable to very good” agreement with the measured soil moisture values, with a root mean square error (RMSE) between 15.1 and 26.6 mm and a modelling efficiency (NSE) that ranged from 0.77 to 0.92. The appropriateness of the adopted smartphone irrigation scheduling was confirmed also by leaf water potential measurements and the Crop Water Stress Index (CWSI). A water saving of more than 1000 m3/ha (25.7%) was observed with Bluleaf® with respect to traditional irrigation scheduling. Therefore, new technologies could bring about substantial benefits to farmers and support water saving efforts in the Mediterranean region.

How to Improve Water Usage Efficiency? Characterization of Family Farms in A Semi-Arid Area

Water scarcity in Spain is partly due to poor management of this resource in the agricultural sector. The main aim of this study is to present the major factors related to water usage efficiency in farming. It focuses on the Almería coast, southeast Spain, which is one of the most arid areas of the country, and in particular, on family farms as the main direct managers of water use in this zone. Many of these farms are among the most water efficient in Spanish agriculture but this efficiency is not generalized throughout the sector. This work conducts a comprehensive assessment of water performance in this area, using on-farm water-use, structural, socio-economic, and environmental information. Two statistical techniques are used: descriptive analysis and cluster analysis. Thus, two groups are identified: farms that are less and farms that are more efficient regarding water usage. By analyzing both the common characteristics within each group and the differences between the groups with a one-way ANOVA analysis, several conclusions can be reached. The main differences between the two clusters center on the extent to which innovation and new technologies are used in irrigation. The most water efficient farms are characterized by more educated farmers, a greater degree of innovation, new irrigation technology, and an awareness of water issues and environmental sustainability. The findings of this study can be extended to farms in similar arid and semi-arid areas and contribute to fostering appropriate policies to improve the efficiency of water usage in the agricultural sector.