Title
Environmental profile of green asparagus production in a hyper-arid zone in coastal Peru
Date Issued
01 January 2016
Access level
metadata only access
Resource Type
journal article
Publisher(s)
Elsevier Ltd
Abstract
The Peruvian coast has developed a robust agricultural sector despite the low average rainfall thanks to the availability of water resources from rivers and groundwater. In fact, this area has become one of the main producers of green asparagus worldwide due to the availability of water and the high yield rates that can be reached. However, irrigation and intensive agriculture constitute a significant threat to water depletion in the region, as well as to important changes in land use. In addition, the intensive use of fertilizers and plant protection agents can increase the amount of nutrients and/or toxic agents in river and in the soil. Hence, a Life Cycle Assessment study was conducted for an agricultural farm in Paracas that cultivates green asparagus for export to North America or Europe. The aim of the study was to understand the potential environmental impacts associated with the cultivation of this product in a hyper-arid area. Results showed a considerably lower water use in the cultivation site when compared to business-as-usual values for the region, due to the advanced irrigation system applied. Environmental impacts were strongly influenced by the high energy intensity linked to the production of inorganic fertilizers used on-site and, to a lesser extent, plant protection agents. Transport environmental burdens were also identified as important sources of environmental impact throughout the impact categories monitored, especially when airfreighted to the final country of destination. Finally, the use of methyl bromide to fumigate green asparagus at US customs implied a high burden in terms of ozone depletion. The results in this study intend to be a proxy to understand the specific hotspots linked to the production of green asparagus in Peru, as well as a way forward for local small- and medium-scale companies to get involved in the improvement of their ecological marketing strategies.
Start page
2505
End page
2517
Volume
112
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Horticultura, Viticultura
Ciencias del medio ambiente
Agricultura
Subjects
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-84958162408
Source
Journal of Cleaner Production
ISSN of the container
09596526
Sponsor(s)
The authors also thank Minela Chávarri, Juan Pablo Bentín and SwissContact for valuable scientific support. Dr. Ian Vázquez-Rowe wishes to thank the Galician Government for financial support (I2C postdoctoral student grants programme). Authors with affiliation to the University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain) belong to the Galician Competitive Research Group GRC 2013-032.
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción Científica
Scopus