Social Life Cycle Assessment of Major Staple Grain Crops in China

Jianing Wei, Jixiao Cui, Yinan Xu, Jinna Li, Xinyu Lei, Wangsheng Gao and Yuanquan Chen
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Jianing Wei: College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Jixiao Cui: Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Yinan Xu: College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Jinna Li: College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Xinyu Lei: College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Wangsheng Gao: College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Yuanquan Chen: College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China

Agriculture, 2022, vol. 12, issue 4, 1-22

Abstract: The agricultural sustainable development for human well-being considers food security and ecological health as well as people’s socio-economic conditions. Nowadays, most of the holistic assessments of agricultural sustainability, mainly focus on food production and ecological consequences, relatively lacking analysis from the socio-economic perspective. In this context, this study constructs an agricultural social life cycle assessment model based on the guidelines of UNEP to assess the social and economic impacts on the three major staple grain crops in China, including maize, rice and wheat. The assessment model aims to analyze effects of stakeholders containing farmer, agricultural value chain actors, consumer, rural areas, society, and impact categories including high-quality growth of agriculture, a comfortable life in rural areas, the prosperity of rural people. The data is mainly from national statistical databases and representative industry databases. The impact assessment adopts social risk and social impact as quantitative characterization methods, and Analytical Hierarchical Process to obtain weights. The results show that: among the three major grain crops, farmers are the most important factors for stakeholders, and agricultural industrial development has the greatest potential negative impacts on society; maize has the most positive impacts on agricultural sustainable development in China.

Keywords: social life cycle assessment; food security; social risks; staple grain crops; agricultural socio-economic development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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