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

Paula Triviño-Tarradas, Pilar Carranza-Cañadas, Francisco-Javier Mesas-Carrascosa and Emilio J. Gonzalez-Sanchez
Additional contact information
Paula Triviño-Tarradas: Departamento de Ingeniería Gráfica y Geomática, Universidad de Córdoba, 14014 Córdoba, Spain
Pilar Carranza-Cañadas: Departamento de Ingeniería Gráfica y Geomática, Universidad de Córdoba, 14014 Córdoba, Spain
Francisco-Javier Mesas-Carrascosa: Departamento de Ingeniería Gráfica y Geomática, Universidad de Córdoba, 14014 Córdoba, Spain
Emilio J. Gonzalez-Sanchez: Departamento de Ingeniería Rural, ETSIAM, Universidad de Córdoba, 14014 Córdoba, Spain

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 3, 1-22

Abstract: The volume of the food produced across the world should be related to agricultural sustainability and is crucial for natural capital protection. Hence, sustainability assessment on farms and the identification of improvements is relevant. A mixed farm of vineyard and olive trees was chosen for sustainability assessment, based on the Best Management Practices (BMPs) that have been implemented. The aim of this research was to assess sustainability on a mixed vineyard and olive-grove farm and validate the INSPIA model for this kind of typology of a farm, which is very typical in the South of Spain. The sustainability assessment was monitored across 5-agricultural seasons based on the INSPIA methodology. INSPIA is based on the application of a set of BMPs, calculated on 31 basic indicators, providing a final composite index of sustainability. The greater the implementation of sustainable farming practices, the higher the value of the composite index. Enhanced soil, water, and air quality, improvement for biodiversity and for ecosystem services help towards sustainable agricultural productivity. Indicators’ results are shown during that period, depicting their relationship with the BMPs. The highest composite index was reached in the 4th year. This paper confirms the relevance of BMPs, such as groundcover establishment and minimum soil disturbance to upgrade sustainability on the permanent croplands in Southern Spain. The indicator-based sustainability assessment is considered a helpful tool in decision-making, which guides farmers towards BMPs performance.

Keywords: sustainable agriculture; permanent crops; best management practices; sustainability indicators; sustainability index; groundcovers (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/3/1090/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/3/1090/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:3:p:1090-:d:316077

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().