title: Finding the right compromise between productivity and environmental efficiency on high input tropical dairy farms: a case study.
abstract: This study focused on the trade-off between milk production and its environmental impact on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and nitrogen surplus in a high input tropical system. We first identified the objectives of the three main stakeholders in the dairy sector (farmers, a milk cooperative and environmentalists). The main aim of the farmers and cooperative's scenarios was to increase milk production without additional environmental deterioration but with the possibility of increasing the inputs for the cooperative. The environmentalist's objective was to reduce environmental deterioration. Second, we designed a sustainable intensification scenario combining maximization of milk production and minimization of environmental impacts. Third, the objectives for reducing the eco-inefficiency of dairy systems in Reunion Island were incorporated in a framework for activity analysis, which was used to model a technological approach with desirable and undesirable outputs. Of the four scenarios, the sustainable intensification scenario produced the best results, with a potential decrease of 238 g CO2-e per liter of milk (i.e. a reduction of 13.93% compared to the current level) and a potential 7.72 L increase in milk produced for each kg of nitrogen surplus (i.e. an increase of 16.45% compared to the current level). These results were based on the best practices observed in Reunion Island and optimized manure management, crop-livestock interactions, and production processes. Our results also showed that frontier efficiency analysis can shed new light on the challenge of developing sustainable intensification in high input tropical dairy systems.
authors.affiliation: LEM-CNRS (UMR 8179) and IÉSEG School of Management, 3 Rue de la Digue, 59000 Lille, France; CIRAD, UMR SELMET, CIRAD-Réunion, Pôle élevage, Ligne Paradis, 97410 St Pierre, La Réunion, France. Electronic address: d.berre@ieseg.fr.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Berre
authors.affiliation: AgroSup Dijon, UMR CESAER, 26, Bd Dr Petitjean BP 87999, 21079 Dijon, France.
authors.forename: Stéphane
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Blancard
authors.affiliation: LEM-IÉSEG School of Management and University of Lille, 3 Rue de la Digue, 59000 Lille, France.
authors.forename: Jean-Philippe
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Boussemart
authors.affiliation: LEM-CNRS (UMR 8179) and IÉSEG School of Management, 3 Rue de la Digue, 59000 Lille, France.
authors.forename: Hervé
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Leleu
authors.affiliation: CIRAD, UMR SELMET, CIRAD-Réunion, Pôle élevage, Ligne Paradis, 97410 St Pierre, La Réunion, France.
authors.forename: Emmanuel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tillard
mesh_terms: D000822:Animal Husbandry; D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D003612:Dairying / Q000379:methods; D004777:Environment; D005260:Female; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D014329:Tropical Climate
keywords: Efficiency analysis; Greenhouse gas; Nitrogen surplus; Sustainable intensification