Environmental performance of organic farming: Evidence from Korean small-holder soybean production

JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION

卷:211

Article

Lee, Ki Song¹  Choe, Young Chan² 

[1] ISC Agr Dev Res Inst, 20,Beongeong Ro 1 Gil, Iksan Si, Jeonbuk Do, South Korea

[2] Seoul Natl Univ, Coll Agr & Life Sci, Gwanak Ro 599, Seoul, South Korea

关键词: Energy efficiency;    Greenhouse gas emission;    Life cycle assessment;    Organic farming;    Conventional farming;    Multi-level regression;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.11.075

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

Organic farming has shown better environmental performance than conventional farming in many studies: however, no systematic study into intensive, smallholder farming practices in Asia has been conducted. In this study, the energy efficiencies (EEs) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of organic and conventional soybean production systems in South Korea, and their major contributing factors, based on life cycle assessments (LCAs) are explored. Multi-level regression analyses and non-parametric comparison tests were applied to the data from 60 soybean farms, 30 of each production system. The results show that conventional farming (1.923 energy efficiency) is significantly more energy efficient than organic farming (1.046 energy efficiency). The energy inefficiency of organic farming is attributed to the excessive use of energy for fuel and mulch film, and smaller crop yields. Greenhouse gas emissions are not significantly different between the organic (2045.11 kg CO2 eq/ton) and conventional soybean farming systems (1657.55 kg CO2 &I/ton). The surprisingly smaller EE and larger GHG emissions associated with soybean production in Korea, compared with those of large-scale farming, necessitates further research on the environmental performance of smaller farms in Asia. (C) 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

【 授权许可】

Free