Measuring the Environmental Impact of Maize, Sorghum, and Millets Production in Madhya Pradesh: A Comparative Analysis Using Life Cycle Assessment

Abstract

The agriculture sector and practices have a significant impact on the environment. To ensure food security, our production practices started depleting environments in terms of climate change, resource scarcity, toxicity, acidification and many more. This study focused on measuring the environmental impact of cereals production, with a focus on staple cereals—Maize, Sorghum, and Millets—in Madhya Pradesh, India. Employing a robust methodology that integrates Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Monte Carlo simulation, the research evaluates the environmental impact of these crops within farmgate based on the data collected as a blanket requirement for the crops from package of practices of Kisan Vigyan Kendra and Indian Institute of Millets Research. The study conducts a comprehensive comparison of each cereal's environmental effects, culminating in an Environmental Degradation (ED) score. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) lends further credibility by assigning weightage to impact categories, enhancing the ED score's accuracy. The findings highlight millets and sorghum as environmentally sustainable choices over maize. Maize was found with an ED score of 4993.50, sorghum 2276.34 and lastly ED score of 126.55 was found in millets production. Since millets and sorghum production found relatively sustainable, the research underscores the need to transition gradually towards millets and sorghum cultivation to ensure food security while mitigating agricultural contributions to environmental stress. Policy recommendations aligned with ongoing initiatives can effectively reduce crop production emissions. This study's insights offer a path to harmonize agricultural productivity with environmental preservation.