Sustainability assessment methodology for CA: The INSPIA model (alphanumeric data and graphical representations)

Abstract

The Initiative for Sustainable Productive Agriculture (INSPIA) project endorses best management practices (BMPs), mainly based on Conservation Agriculture (CA), to enhance the provision of ecosystem services through better stewardship of soil and water resources while ensuring high levels of productivity. This research presents the INSPIA methodology for the assessment of sustainability and for guiding farmers on strategic decision-making at the farm level, applicable to any kind of cropland (annual and permanent crops). The methodology is based on the application of 15 best management practices, which are evaluated through a set of 31 basic sustainability indicators that cover the economic, social and environmental sustainability dimensions. This set of sustainability indicators and BMPs were agreed by a panel of experts consisting of members of European universities and public research stations, representatives of non-profit making associations, members of public sector, technicians and farmers. The selection of sustainability indicators fulfils the three types of validation: design validation, output validation and end-use validation. Basic indicators are then grouped into 12 aggregated indicators, to build the final INSPIA composite index of sustainability. The INSPIA methodology provides farmers and advisers with a helpful tool to understand sustainability and which, to a certain extent, serves to improve performance toward sustainability. Results are presented through this methodology in three different graphical ways: a bar diagram with the whole set of basic indicator-values from 0 to 100; a pie chart representing the sustainability split in the aggregated indicators from 0 to 100; and a final sustainability index ranging from 0 to 100. In the medium and long term, the INSPIA methodology can help to monitor and assess agricultural and environmental policy implementation, as well as help improve its decision-making processes in the future.