Title
Applying the Technology Choice Model in Consequential Life Cycle Assessment: A Case Study in the Peruvian Agricultural Sector
Date Issued
2019
Access level
restricted access
Resource Type
journal article
Publisher(s)
Blackwell Publishing
Abstract
Demand for grapes to produce pisco in southern-coastal Peru is expected to double by 2030. However, the appellation of this beverage confines the production and limits the space for agricultural expansion, leading to a situation in which potential competition for resources with established constraints is foreseen. Hence, the objective of this study is to understand the environmental impacts, focused on climate change and water consumption, linked to the agricultural dynamism in the valleys of Ica and Pisco due to an increase in the demand of pisco. For this, the viticulture system was analyzed regarding predicted changes in terms of expansion, displacement or intensification using a consequential life cycle assessment (CLCA) approach, identifying the environmental consequences of these shifts. A two-step CLCA model was used based on the results of a previous attributional study, in which marginal effects were estimated following the stochastic technology-of-choice model (STCM) operational framework. Results identified a potential for the increase of pisco production based on crop substitution in the valleys of Ica and Pisco and suggest that greenhouse gas emissions and water consumption will be reduced locally, but the displaced agricultural production would reverse this tendency. Regardless of the policy implications of the results in the analyzed system, the proposed methodology constitutes a robust methodology that can be applied to other highly constrained agricultural systems, namely, those regulated by geographic indications. © 2018 by Yale University
Start page
601
End page
614
Volume
23
Issue
3
Number
17
Language
English
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85054549041
Source
Journal of Industrial Ecology
ISSN of the container
1088-1980
Sponsor(s)
The land availability constraint was built by aggregating cultivation and fallow land corresponding to marginal farmers who were likely to pass a standard bank evaluation. This was inferred considering that the production of grapes is deemed an expensive and long-term investment in comparison with other products in the region. Consequently, most of the entrepreneurships are leveraged, having banks as the main source of funding (AGROBANCO 2017). The rationale behind marginal farmers’ selection was related to guidelines provided by Agrobanco. This bank, funded with mixed sources, is mainly oriented to provide financial support to small-scale farmers who cannot easily access private banking funds (AGROBANCO 2017). The selection discarded small-scale and industrialized farmers based on the plot size and the type of crop (i.e., monoculture or mixed). Products with much higher profitability, namely, other DO products, were also discarded. All nonpermanent crops that represented at least 90% of total land were finally selected. Census variables and chosen criteria are listed in table 2.
Sources of information: Directorio de Producción Científica