Sustainability Assessment of Annual and Permanent Crops: The Inspia Model

Abstract

The Initiative for Sustainable Productive Agriculture (INSPIA) project promotes best management practices for agriculture, to enhance the provision of ecosystem services through better stewardship of soil and water resources while ensuring high levels of productivity. This paper presents the INSPIA methodology for the assessment of sustainability and for guiding farmers on strategic decision-making at farm level, applicable to any kind of cropland. The methodology is based on the application of 15 best management practices, which are assessed through a set of 31 basic sustainability indicators that cover the economic, social and environmental dimensions both agreed by a panel of experts. Basic indicators are then grouped into 12 aggregated indicators, to build the final INSPIA composite index. The INSPIA methodology provides farmers and advisers with a tool to understand sustainability and which, to a certain extent, serves to improve performance toward sustainability. Results are presented in three different ways: a bar diagram with the whole set of basic indicator-values; a pie chart representing the sustainability split in the aggregated indicators; and a final sustainability index. In the medium and long term, the INSPIA methodology can help to monitor and assess agricultural and environmental policy implementation, as well as help improve its decision-making processes in the future.

Evaluation of Agricultural Sustainability on a Mixed Vineyard and Olive-Grove Farm in Southern Spain through the INSPIA Model

“…The INSPIA model takes into account multi-dimensional aspects such as economic, social and environmental aspects. It addresses these three sustainability dimensions and the feasibility of obtaining a well-balanced composite index [10]. Indicator-values derive from what farmers do in their fields.…”

“…The way of showing farm sustainability grade for INSPIA, alike other indicators-based sustainability assessments, is providing a composite index scaled between 0-100. INSPIA methodology is fully described in Triviño-Tarradas et al (2019) [10].…”

“…The whole farm management e.g., crop and soil management, input management and its application, and some BMPs aimed at environmental improvements and natural capital protection are annually monitored. The resulting INSPIA composite index and the value of the basic indicators are also inter-related to the number of BMPs utilised by each farmer, as it will be justified on the results [10]. Indeed, the sustainable performance of the farm is affected by the number of BMPs implemented.…”

“…31), there is an increase of 425% of this indicator over the dataset time. This indicator, as explained in Triviño-Tarradas et al (2019) [10] refers not only to the manipulation of products, and their application with suitable equipment but also to their prevention as point source pollution. Alike Salvia et al (2018) [36] pointed out farmers' adoption of optimal farm management goes hand by hand with their training level, since there is a huge increase from the 3rd to the 4' year of the indicator No.…”

“…Dendrogram of basic and aggregated (level 1 and 2) indicators to calculate the final INSPIA composite index[10].…”