Sustainable Agriculture and Self-Sufficiency in Sweden—Calculation of Climate Impact and Acreage Need Based on Ecological Recycling Agriculture Farms

Abstract

A necessary reduction in climate impact and raised interest in the self-sufficiency of food in Sweden serve as the major background for the study. The purpose was to examine whether conversion of Swedish agriculture following principles of Ecological Recycling Agriculture (ERA) could be a realistic alternative. Case studies of 22 ERA farms were performed, and results were presented for five production groups in kg production, carbon sequestration, and nutrient balance per hectare. The farms show climate impact substantially lower than Swedish average agriculture, through 85% lower commodity purchases and 2.3 times larger carbon sequestration due to more ley cropping. Target diets with varying amounts of meat and dairy products were defined and matched with the production and presented in scenarios where the farms’ staple food production is upscaled for a Swedish population of 11 million inhabitants. Results are presented in kg of food category produced, hectares of arable land, CO2 equivalents, and kg of N surplus per capita. The scenario results show that it is possible to achieve at least a 90% decrease in climate impact. It is concluded that it is within range for Sweden to be self-sufficient in staple foods based on the available acreage of arable land by adopting Ecological Recycling Agricultural principles in a similar manner as the studied farms.