Life cycle assessment of Apple production system from the perspective of farmer differentiation -- a case study of Yuncheng City, Shanxi Province

Abstract

Abstract Although China's agriculture and food sectors have contributed to human health and food security, they have also significantly impacted the environment. As a major apple-producing country globally, compared with the standardized orchards in other countries, China's orchards have a smaller production scale, a lower degree of standardization, and higher differentiation, which increases the difficulty of agricultural environmental governance. Based on the national conditions of small-scale farmers in China, this study comprehensively evaluated the environmental impact of fruit farmers producing 1 ton of apples in Yuncheng, Shanxi Province, from the perspective of farmers' differentiation. Moreover, bringing the environmental impact of fruit farmers' purchase of social services (Handing&warehousing) and economic services (Insurance and Internet services) into the orchard production system. Due to different constraints on resource endowment, differentiated farmers show different behaviors and target choices among individuals, which will have different effects on the environment. The results show that different types of farmers affect ecosystem quality, human health, and natural resources. At present, the differentiation trend of farmers has an adverse impact on the orchard environment. The production of 1 ton of apples by class II concurrent households has the most severe environmental pollution. In economic activity services, farmers' purchase of Insurance services and Internet services has little impact on the environment, accounting for only 0.74% − 1.56% of the environmental impact of Apple's life cycle. Farmers' purchase of socialized services(Handing&warehousing) has a more significant impact on the environment, accounting for 14.21% − 22.41% of the environmental impact of Apple's life cycle, which means that in order to reduce the environmental impact of apple production, relevant subjects in the apple industry chain need to work together. By encouraging the circulation of orchards, organic fertilizer instead of chemical fertilizer and paper bag landfills can effectively reduce the environmental impact, but the large use of organic fertilizer will also harm the environment.