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Eco-efficiency analysis of selected tropical fruit production systems in Iran

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Abstract

Assessment of sustainability is the first step in transition towards a sustainable agricultural system. The eco-efficiency analysis is gaining attention as a criterion defined to examine the economic and environmental sustainability of food systems. Accordingly, the present study evaluated the eco-efficiency of selected tropical fruit production systems in the southeast of Iran. The investigated tropical fruits were banana, mango, jujube, guava, and sapodilla, and the life cycle assessment methodology was employed to investigate the environmental impacts of the investigated systems. The net income and global warming potential were selected to be the economic and environmental indicators, respectively. Economic analysis revealed that the guava production system had the highest production cost with $531 t−1, while the highest net income belonged to mango with $2339 t−1. The environmental impact analysis revealed that the jujube production system had the largest negative impacts on the four investigated damage categories: climate change, resources, human health, and ecosystem quality. The calculated eco-efficiency index for banana, mango, jujube, guava, and sapodilla was 6.0, 12.9, 0.5, 3.4, and 2.6 $ kgCO2eq−1, respectively. Overall, mango production was identified as the most eco-efficient tropical fruit production system in the investigated area.

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Funding

This funding was provided by university of zabol, Grant No. IR-UOZ-GR-8086.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Zabol, Zabol, Iran

    M. Rasoolizadeh, M. Salarpour, M. A. Borazjani & H. Mohamadi

  2. Department of Environmental Technology, Food Technology and Molecular Biotechnology, Ghent University Global Campus, Incheon, South Korea

    A. Nikkhah

  3. Department of Agricultural Education and Extension, University of Zabol, Zabol, Iran

    V. Sarani

Authors
  1. M. Rasoolizadeh
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  2. M. Salarpour
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  3. M. A. Borazjani
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  4. A. Nikkhah
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  5. H. Mohamadi
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  6. V. Sarani
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Correspondence to M. A. Borazjani.

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Editorial responsibility: Dai-Viet N. Vo.

Appendix 1

Appendix 1

See Fig.

Fig. 6
figure 6

Highlighted area presents the location of the case study, Sistan and Baluchestan province, on the map of Iran

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6 and Table

Table 5 The number of questionnaires for each studied tropical fruit in Sistan and Baluchestan province, Iran
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5.

$$ {\text{Gross income}} = {\text{gross production value}} - {\text{variable cost}} $$
(1)
$$ {\text{Net income}} = {\text{gross production value}} - {\text{total production cost}} $$
(2)
$$ {\text{Benefit-to-cost ratio}} = \frac{{{\text{gross production value}}}}{{{\text{total production cost}}}} $$
(3)

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Rasoolizadeh, M., Salarpour, M., Borazjani, M.A. et al. Eco-efficiency analysis of selected tropical fruit production systems in Iran. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 19, 11169–11182 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-022-04349-8

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