Life Cycle Assessment on Precision Agriculture

Dear Colleagues,

The European Green Deal sets out how to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. The Farm-to-Fork Strategy is a new approach to ensure that agriculture, fisheries and aquaculture, and the food value chain contribute appropriately to this process. More recently, the COVID-19 pandemic has underlined the importance of a robust and resilient food system. Agriculture is an important contributor to climate change through emissions of GHGs and air pollutants. The sector accounts for around 10 % of all GHGs in the EU. Non‑CO2 emissions of methane (CH4) emissions from enteric fermentation make up the largest share (38 %) of all GHG emissions in the sector. One potential relevant agronomic practice for climate change mitigation and emission reduction purposes is Precision Agriculture (PA). Land management with PA can reduce agricultural input use (fertilizers, pesticides, water, and energy) and maintain or even increase crop production for food or feed. Simultaneously, Precision Livestock Farming (PLF) can significantly reduce feed amounts while covering the needs of animals by providing feed when it is required using robotic technologies, and can improve animal health and welfare by early disease detection systems. There is a strong need for a clear perspective of environmental and economic implications of precision agriculture technologies. In this aspect, the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) tool is recognized among the most complete and widely used methodological frameworks for assessing the environmental impact of products and processes. This Special Issue aims to present a selection of original and innovative papers highlighting the most challenging aspects relating to the comprehensive integration of life cycle thinking in sustainable production with regard to PA and environmental impact assessment. This will include, but is not limited to, the following: environmental impact assessment of precision farming (including livestock) techniques, technologies and systems, adaptation and mitigation measures, and policy recommendations. Problems, challenges, perspectives, and opportunities with respect to the different applications of the LCA will reveal the dynamic of LCA as a sustainable tool. Successful paradigms of LCA methodology application in specific case studies are particularly welcome.

Dr. Anna Vatsanidou
Guest Editor

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