Reducing carbon emission in the goat farms by switching from conventional goat farming to green goat farm typology

Abstract

The carbon footprint of goat farms associated with the management type and the income sacrifice to switch to green goat farms are still not precise in the literature. Therefore, the objectives of this study were 1) to assess the environmental impacts of goat farming associated with management typology in Türkiye and 2) to explore the link between farm-level income sacrifice and the amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction. Goat farm-level data were collected from randomly selected 284 goat farms through a questionnaire. Environmental impacts of goat farming associated with the management typology were examined using the life cycle assessment (LCA). The GHG emissions were calculated both for the whole goat farm associated with the management type and for individual goat products such as milk, meat, mohair, and replacement. The research results showed that Turkish goat farms emitted GHG emissions for the production of per kg of meat, milk, and mohair by 9.85 kg CO2-eq, 8 kg CO2-eq, and 0.28 kg CO2-eq, respectively. Goat farms in management type 1 emitted the highest GHG emission in a year, while that of goat farms in type 5 was the lowest. The research results also showed that the environmental impact and farm-level income sacrifice per kg GHG emission reduction to reach the level of environmentally friendly goat farms varied according to the management type of goat farms. Typical Turkish goat farms gained agricultural income by 2.47 USD per kg of GHG emission. The amount of agricultural income gained per kg GHG emission varied according to typology. Based on the research results, typical Turkish goat farms faced with an income sacrifice of 2.85 USD per kg GHG emission reduction to reach the level of environmentally friendly goat farms having minimum GHG emission in a year. Turkish goat farms emitted 0.49 kg CO2-eq per USD of agricultural production expenses. The study suggests switching from a conventional management type to environmentally friendly management type goat farms. Facilitating the accessibility of financial resources may enhance the switching process through benefiting investments in infrastructure, equipment, and research and development. Creating resource-efficient and environmentally friendly goat farms by subsidizing the goat farms may decrease GHG emissions.