Energy flow and life cycle impact assessment of coffee-pepper production systems: An evaluation of conventional, integrated and organic farms in India

In the process of analyzing and taking action toward a low-carbon production, understanding the effect kind of farm management options is critical. Currently, a sustainable production system entails effective energy use with reduced environmental impact. Considering the quantum of inputs in coffee production, this study deals with the evaluation of energy flow and environmental footprints of coffee-pepper farms of Karnataka, India. The aim is to ensure the socio-economic and environmental sustainability of coffee-pepper production systems. The evaluation was made for 108 farms, categorized into conventional farming (CF), integrated production (IP), and organic farming (OF) systems, using both data envelopment analysis (DEA) and Life cycle Assessment (LCA) methodologies. A cradle-to-gate perspective was used to evaluate the life cycle environmental impacts. The functional unit is one ha of the cropping system, used for producing both crops (coffee and pepper). The energy analysis revealed higher energy use efficiency (2.3), net energy gain (18,890 MJ/ha), and farm autonomy (0.3) in the OF system. Higher energy consumption in CF and IP was attributed to the N fertilizer use (38% & 32%, respectively), followed by lime (20% & 17%, respectively). The DEA indicated that the average technical efficiency of the farming system was 0.82 for the CF and 0.76 for the IP. This implies farmers can save 18 and 24% of the resources in the CF and the IP systems, respectively. These farms performed more efficiently with a mean economic saving of 497 and 540 USD, respectively compared to the CF. The on-farm greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were the major contributor to the global warming potential; contributing 59%, 62%, and 62%, respectively in the CF, IP, and OF. The overall GHG emissions in the OF systems were 65% lower compared to the CF. The IP and OF systems showed better environmental and energy gains compared to the CF for most of the selected sustainability metrics. Hence, large-scale adoption of the OF practices or reducing the use of external inputs can help to achieve higher energy efficiency and to reduce environmental impacts associated with conventional farming systems.