Comprehensive Assessment of Environmental, Economic, and Social Impacts in Rice Cultivation: A Life-Cycle Analysis
Keywords:
Nutrition and Economics, Climate and Soil Conditions, Fair Wages, Global Rice Trade, Social RisksAbstract
Since rice is the cereal that people eat most of all over the world, producing it is crucial for feeding everyone on the planet. Therefore, considering its importance in terms of nutrition and economics, evaluating the sustainability of this production method is essential. This comprehensive review investigates the life cycle environmental impacts, economic considerations, and social aspects associated with global rice cultivation. Spanning diverse regions, the study employs a comparative analysis using Global Warming Potential (GWP) as a benchmark, revealing variations in greenhouse gas emissions per metric tonne of rice. Malaysia and Italy, employing distinct cultivation techniques, exhibit similar results, highlighting the nuanced environmental impacts influenced by climate and soil conditions. Sensitivity analysis evaluation underscores its significance in understanding the impact of different assumptions on study outcomes, while life cycle costing is explored, revealing a tendency to overlook economic aspects in rice industry Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) investigations. Social Life Cycle Analysis (S-LCA) introduces socio-economic considerations, unveiling potential risks associated with child labor, forced labor, fair wages, and working conditions in the global rice industry. Key discoveries indicate India consistently exhibits the highest medium-high social risks, emphasizing the potential widespread impact of social issues in the global rice trade. The study concludes by emphasizing the need for additional research into the societal impacts of rice agriculture, serving as a valuable starting point for promoting sustainable and socially responsible practices in the global rice industry. Recommendations include employing diverse operational entities, aligning methodologies, addressing regional priorities, and conducting comprehensive LCAs by leading rice-producing countries.
References
D. Tilman et al., “Forecasting agriculturally driven global environmental change,” Science (80-. )., vol. 292, no. 5515, pp. 281–284, Apr. 2001, doi: 10.1126/SCIENCE.1057544.
“(PDF) Evaluation of the environmental impacts of rice paddy production using life cycle assessment: case study in Bangladesh.” Accessed: Feb. 16, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319202619_Evaluation_of_the_environmental_impacts_of_rice_paddy_production_using_life_cycle_assessment_case_study_in_Bangladesh
M. A. J. Huijbregts et al., “ReCiPe2016: a harmonised life cycle impact assessment method at midpoint and endpoint level,” Int. J. Life Cycle Assess., vol. 22, no. 2, pp. 138–147, Feb. 2017, doi: 10.1007/S11367-016-1246-Y.
B. Mattsson and E. Wallén, “Environmental Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of organic potatoes,” Acta Hortic., vol. 619, pp. 427–435, 2003, doi: 10.17660/ACTAHORTIC.2003.619.51.
B. Notarnicola, K. Hayashi, M. A. Curran, and D. Huisingh, “Progress in working towards a more sustainable agri-food industry,” J. Clean. Prod., vol. 28, pp. 1–8, Jun. 2012, doi: 10.1016/J.JCLEPRO.2012.02.007.
X. Xu et al., “Global greenhouse gas emissions from animal-based foods are twice those of plant-based foods,” Nat. Food 2021 29, vol. 2, no. 9, pp. 724–732, Sep. 2021, doi: 10.1038/s43016-021-00358-x.
S. Kirschke et al., “Three decades of global methane sources and sinks,” Nat. Geosci. 2013 610, vol. 6, no. 10, pp. 813–823, Sep. 2013, doi: 10.1038/ngeo1955.
T. Nemecek, N. Jungbluth, L. M. i Canals, and R. Schenck, “Environmental impacts of food consumption and nutrition: where are we and what is next?,” Int. J. Life Cycle Assess., vol. 21, no. 5, pp. 607–620, May 2016, doi: 10.1007/S11367-016-1071-3.
G. Singh, M. K. Gupta, S. Chaurasiya, V. S. Sharma, and D. Y. Pimenov, “Rice straw burning: a review on its global prevalence and the sustainable alternatives for its effective mitigation,” Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res., vol. 28, no. 25, pp. 32125–32155, Jul. 2021, doi: 10.1007/S11356-021-14163-3/METRICS.
S. Zingale, P. Guarnaccia, A. Matarazzo, G. Lagioia, and C. Ingrao, “A systematic literature review of life cycle assessments in the durum wheat sector,” Sci. Total Environ., vol. 844, p. 157230, Oct. 2022, doi: 10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2022.157230.
P. Roy, K. Tokuyasu, T. Orikasa, N. Nakamura, and T. Shiina, “A Review of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Bioethanol from Lignocellulosic Biomass,” Japan Agric. Res. Q. JARQ, vol. 46, no. 1, pp. 41–57, Jan. 2012, doi: 10.6090/JARQ.46.41.
B. Khoshnevisan et al., “Evaluation of traditional and consolidated rice farms in Guilan Province, Iran, using life cycle assessment and fuzzy modeling,” Sci. Total Environ., vol. 481, no. 1, pp. 242–251, May 2014, doi: 10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2014.02.052.
S. Dastan, B. Ghareyazie, J. A. Teixeira da Silva, and S. H. Pishgar-Komleh, “Assessment of the life cycle of genetically modified and non-genetically modified rice cultivars,” Arab. J. Geosci., vol. 13, no. 10, pp. 1–14, May 2020, doi: 10.1007/S12517-020-05386-8/METRICS.
E. Houshyar, B. Chen, and G. Q. Chen, “Environmental impacts of rice production analyzed via social capital development: An Iranian case study with a life cycle assessment/data envelopment analysis approach,” Ecol. Indic., vol. 105, pp. 675–687, Oct. 2019, doi: 10.1016/J.ECOLIND.2018.07.040.
A. M. Shew, A. Durand-Morat, B. Putman, L. L. Nalley, and A. Ghosh, “Rice intensification in Bangladesh improves economic and environmental welfare,” Environ. Sci. Policy, vol. 95, pp. 46–57, May 2019, doi: 10.1016/J.ENVSCI.2019.02.004.
K. Masuda, “Eco-Efficiency Assessment of Intensive Rice Production in Japan: Joint Application of Life Cycle Assessment and Data Envelopment Analysis,” Sustain. 2019, Vol. 11, Page 5368, vol. 11, no. 19, p. 5368, Sep. 2019, doi: 10.3390/SU11195368.
M. H. Abdul Rahman et al., “Life cycle assessment in conventional rice farming system: Estimation of greenhouse gas emissions using cradle-to-gate approach,” J. Clean. Prod., vol. 212, pp. 1526–1535, Mar. 2019, doi: 10.1016/J.JCLEPRO.2018.12.062.
A. Ahmad, M. Zoli, C. Latella, and J. Bacenetti, “Rice cultivation and processing: Highlights from a life cycle thinking perspective,” Sci. Total Environ., vol. 871, May 2023, doi: 10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2023.162079.
X. He, Y. Qiao, L. Liang, M. T. Knudsen, and F. Martin, “Environmental life cycle assessment of long-term organic rice production in subtropical China,” J. Clean. Prod., vol. 176, pp. 880–888, Mar. 2018, doi: 10.1016/J.JCLEPRO.2017.12.045.
S. N. Harun, M. M. Hanafiah, and N. I. H. A. Aziz, “An LCA-Based Environmental Performance of Rice Production for Developing a Sustainable Agri-Food System in Malaysia,” Environ. Manage., vol. 67, no. 1, pp. 146–161, Jan. 2021, doi: 10.1007/S00267-020-01365-7/METRICS.
L. Yu et al., “Life cycle assessment of liquid digestate application strategies for rice agri-food chain in ‘Zero-waste City,’” Biomass Convers. Biorefinery, vol. 12, no. 10, pp. 4389–4401, Mar. 2022, doi: 10.1007/S13399-022-02542-W/METRICS.
C. Gouel and H. Guimbard, “Nutrition Transition and the Structure of Global Food Demand,” Am. J. Agric. Econ., vol. 101, no. 2, pp. 383–403, Mar. 2019, doi: 10.1093/AJAE/AAY030.
A. Gani, “Greenhouse gas emissions from the production of cereals and livestock across high-, middle- and low-income countries,” Renew. Agric. Food Syst., vol. 37, no. 1, pp. 36–48, 2022, doi: 10.1017/S1742170521000272.
J. Su et al., “Expression of barley SUSIBA2 transcription factor yields high-starch low-methane rice,” Nat. 2015 5237562, vol. 523, no. 7562, pp. 602–606, Jul. 2015, doi: 10.1038/nature14673.
N. Ukrainczyk and E. A. B. Koenders, “Sustainability aspects in mass concrete,” RILEM State-of-the-Art Reports, vol. 27, pp. 357–409, 2019, doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-76617-1_10/COVER.
I. Quispe, R. Navia, and R. Kahhat, “Energy potential from rice husk through direct combustion and fast pyrolysis: A review,” Waste Manag., vol. 59, pp. 200–210, Jan. 2017, doi: 10.1016/J.WASMAN.2016.10.001.
X. Shen, L. Zhang, and J. Zhang, “Ratoon rice production in central China: Environmental sustainability and food production,” Sci. Total Environ., vol. 764, p. 142850, Apr. 2021, doi: 10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2020.142850.
E. Habibi, Y. Niknejad, H. Fallah, S. Dastan, and D. B. Tari, “Life cycle assessment of rice production systems in different paddy field size levels in north of Iran,” Environ. Monit. Assess., vol. 191, no. 4, pp. 1–23, Apr. 2019, doi: 10.1007/S10661-019-7344-0/METRICS.
M. Rezaei, F. Soheilifard, and A. Keshvari, “Impact of agrochemical emission models on the environmental assessment of paddy rice production using life cycle assessment approach,” Energy Sources, Part A Recover. Util. Environ. Eff., Jan. 2021, doi: 10.1080/15567036.2020.1864066.
A. Abolhasani, B. Samali, and F. Aslani, “Rice Husk Ash Incorporation in Calcium Aluminate Cement Concrete: Life Cycle Assessment, Hydration and Strength Development,” Sustain. 2022, Vol. 14, Page 1012, vol. 14, no. 2, p. 1012, Jan. 2022, doi: 10.3390/SU14021012.
A. N. Jimmy, N. A. Khan, M. N. Hossain, and M. Sujauddin, “Evaluation of the environmental impacts of rice paddy production using life cycle assessment: case study in Bangladesh,” Model. Earth Syst. Environ., vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 1691–1705, Dec. 2017, doi: 10.1007/S40808-017-0368-Y/METRICS.
S. Yodkhum, S. Sampattagul, and S. H. Gheewala, “Energy and environmental impact analysis of rice cultivation and straw management in northern Thailand,” Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res., vol. 25, no. 18, pp. 17654–17664, Jun. 2018, doi: 10.1007/S11356-018-1961-Y/METRICS.
N. Arunrat, C. Wang, and N. Pumijumnong, “Reprint of Alternative cropping systems for greenhouse gases mitigation in rice field: a case study in Phichit province of Thailand,” J. Clean. Prod., vol. 134, pp. 547–562, Oct. 2016, doi: 10.1016/J.JCLEPRO.2016.08.015.
J. Bacenetti, A. Fusi, M. Negri, S. Bocchi, and M. Fiala, “Organic production systems: Sustainability assessment of rice in Italy,” Agric. Ecosyst. Environ., vol. 225, pp. 33–44, Jun. 2016, doi: 10.1016/J.AGEE.2016.03.046.
R. Mungkung, P. Pengthamkeerati, R. Chaichana, S. Watcharothai, K. Kitpakornsanti, and S. Tapananont, “Life Cycle Assessment of Thai organic Hom Mali rice to evaluate the climate change, water use and biodiversity impacts,” J. Clean. Prod., vol. 211, pp. 687–694, Feb. 2019, doi: 10.1016/J.JCLEPRO.2018.11.197.
T. Hishinuma, S. Ono, and A. Ikeguchi, “Scenario Analysis of Environmental Impact of Paddy Rice Farming Systems Utilizing Different Fertilizer Materials,” Sustain. Prod. Life Cycle Eng. Manag., pp. 415–427, 2021, doi: 10.1007/978-981-15-6775-9_27/COVER.
Y. Chen, C. Liu, J. Chen, N. Hu, and L. Zhu, “Evaluation on environmental consequences and sustainability of three rice-based rotation systems in Quanjiao, China by an integrated analysis of life cycle, emergy and economic assessment,” J. Clean. Prod., vol. 310, p. 127493, Aug. 2021, doi: 10.1016/J.JCLEPRO.2021.127493.
S. Yodkhum, S. H. Gheewala, and S. Sampattagul, “Life cycle GHG evaluation of organic rice production in northern Thailand,” J. Environ. Manage., vol. 196, pp. 217–223, Jul. 2017, doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2017.03.004.
“View of Position of Pakistani Basmati Rice in International Markets (A Comparative Analysis).” Accessed: Feb. 22, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://journal.50sea.com/index.php/IJASD/article/view/430/518
