Life cycle sustainability assessment of crops in India

• Published in: Current research in environmental sustainability 2021, Vol.3, p.100074, Article 100074
• Main Authors: Selvaraj, Ambika, Gautam, Jagrati, Verma, Shikhar, Verma, Gaurav, Jain, Siddhant
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agricultural sustainability; Agriculture sector in India; Crop cultivation; Life cycle impact analysis; Sustainability assessment
• ISSN: 2666-0490; 2666-0490
• DOI: 10.1016/j.crsust.2021.100074

In India, the modernization in the agricultural sector is continuously growing to meet the food demand of rising population. However, along with addressing hunger, modern agriculture impacts the ecosystem, human health, and resources, due to huge consumption of agrochemicals, and emission-intensive farming hence urges sustainable assessment. Till now, no impact assessment is reported on world's second-largest agricultural country- India. This paper is the first of its kind in evaluating the impact of the cultivation of 21 commonly grown crops that possess high production and emissions in India. The results were discussed in the order of impact parameters in respective years with possible causes and remedial measures. The results showed that rice has topped in maximum indices followed by sugarcane, wheat, and banana. The study forecasted that coconut played a concentrated role in global warming, while potato and sugarcane have a higher impact on water and ozone depletion, respectively. The outcomes of this study suggested appropriate improvements in farming practices, which can bring the emissions down and make the system more sustainable. Besides, these 18 indices were individually assessed for their connection with the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) in the aspects of agricultural activities to select the appropriate indices to measure the agricultural sustainability along with the identification of gaps to upgrade the existing indices or formulate a new one. Subsequently, this helps in achieving the SDGs in India with the least impact on the environment without compromising the socio-economic aspects involved in crop production and agricultural systems. Illustration of the research statement in this study. [Display omitted] •Foremost study measuring impacts of 21 crops in India using 18 sustainability indices.•LCA has all stages from material production to crop harvest and residue management.•Analysis of ecological, health, and resource-wise impacts on years from 2000 to 2050.•The top 5 most impactful crops in 2020 are rice, maize, mango, millet, and wheat.•Assessed the link between 18 indices and 17 SDGs from an agricultural point of view.