Economic sustainability assessment of Mediterranean crops: A comparative Life Cycle Costing (LCC) analysis

Abstract

The production of food with beneficial health effects is at the attention of consumer entrepreneurs and public decision-makers. Plants with established health benefits such as almonds, olives from which olive oil is made, and figs have always been cultivated in the Mediterranean basin. In the past, these three crops were widely cultivated in Italy, particularly in the southern part, where the best soil and climate conditions persisted. Today, however, almond and fig production is at an all-time low. The present study aims to assess the economic sustainability of investments in shell almond, olive, and fig farms by integrating Life Cycle Costing (LCC) methodology with specific economic indicators. In addition, a comparison between the three crops is made based on all economic results. The analysis allowed for the consideration of all costs over the entire life cycle of the investments, streamlining business decision-making for the choice between different alternatives. The results demonstrated greater economic profitability of investments in shelled almonds and dried figs and an adequate level of profitability. On the other hand, the results for olive trees were low. In this context, the production of almonds and figs could represent an important agribusiness chain, useful for the improvement of the rural economy.

A methodological proposal of the Sustainolive international research project to drive Mediterranean olive ecosystems toward sustainability

“…LCC's first purpose is to account for all financial costs across the life cycle phases; the main difference with LCA is that there are no specific standardized norms for all sectors, neither databases nor characterization models (Spada et al, 2022). Three possible approaches exist, namely financial or conventional LCC (C-LCC), environmental LCC (E-LCC), and societal LCC (S-LCC).…”

Assessment of Economic Sustainability of Cropping Systems in the Salt–Affected Coastal Zone of West Bengal, India

“…Deytieux et al [25] and Pasheai Kamali et al [26] worked on a multi-criteria assessment of sustainability and validation of scores from different experts by producing literature reviews. Later on, Spada et al [27] took an attempt to estimate the economic sustainability of Mediterranean crop (shell almond, fig, and olive) production using the life cycle assessment method along with different economic parameters. Ed-Dafali et al [28] worked on the economic sustainability of industries, encompassing ambidexterity in business, orientations in marketing and entrepreneurship, and sustainable competitive advantage in the context of the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0) with smart digital technologies.…”