Eco-efficiency analysis of rainfed and irrigated maize systems in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

This study evaluated the eco-efficiency of rainfed and irrigated maize production in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Environmental impact assessments were performed through energy, carbon footprint, and water scarcity footprint analysis. For economic analysis, gross and net returns and benefit–cost ratios were calculated. Eco-efficiency was measured by the ratio between the net return and environmental criteria. The findings indicate that the transition from rainfed to irrigated maize cultivation per unit of land results in a 53.7% higher yield and gross value of production, but also a 69.8% increase in energy input, a 22% rise in greenhouse gas emissions, and a 3.6-fold increase in the water scarcity footprint. While a positive link exists in irrigated maize between higher yield and lower carbon footprint per unit of product, rainfed systems outperform in energy efficiency, productivity, profitability, water scarcity footprint, and overall eco-efficiency. Both systems rely heavily on nonrenewable energy sources, with fertilization (affecting energy and carbon footprint), mechanization (affecting carbon footprint), and irrigation (exacerbating water scarcity) as the main contributors to the negative environmental impacts. The implementation of optimization strategies for these inputs is of paramount importance to reduce environmental impacts and promote sustainability in maize farming in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Energy, Environmental, and Economic Sustainability of Saffron Cultivation: Insights from the First European (Italian) Case Study

“…The environmental impact of crop production extends beyond energy and greenhouse gas emissions, encompassing factors like land use, water consumption, toxicity, resource use, and pollution potential. A holistic approach combining life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle costing (LCC) is crucial for thoroughly understanding the eco-efficiency of crop production systems [17]. Generally, there is a limited body of scientific literature addressing environmental impacts via LCA.…”

“…Previous research has provided a narrow exploration of potential environmental impacts, employing a limited set of indicators and restricting the geographic scope to the Middle East [13,16,18,19]. Few studies have examined the production cost [20], as well as combined energy, economic, and environmental factors, as demonstrated in the other works [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24].…”

Upgrading Maize Cultivation in Bosnia and Herzegovina from Rainfed to Irrigated Systems: Use of Remote Sensing Data and the Dual Crop Coefficient Approach to Estimate Evapotranspiration

“…Although agriculture is an important economic sector in BiH [10], the water management sector in agriculture is often neglected, both in terms of research and implementation activities funded by the government [11]. According to the BiH Statistical Institutes, from 2000 to 2020 [12], the most cultivated crop was maize for grain, yet with low productivity [13]. The cultivation of maize and winter cereals, crops that possess a certain resilience to climate change, has led to a low level of adoption of precision irrigation technologies.…”