Evaluation of the sustainability of 15 contrasted pork production systems

By Michel Bonneau

 

A group of scientists, led by Michel Bonneau from INRA in France has within Module II of Q-PorkChains begun research for assessing the sustainability of 15 contrasted pork production systems at farm level. This work is complementary to the studies on pork production chains that have been, and are currently being, developed within the module IV of Q-PorkChains. The aim is to increase knowledge on the strengths and weaknesses of the variety of pork production systems existing in Europe and to derive opportunities and possibilities for future development taking into account all the relevant issues of sustainability, namely economy, society and environment.

 

The 15 contrasted production systems are presented in Figure 1.

^{Figure 1. The 10 differentiated systems currently being evaluated for sustainability in Denmark, France, Netherlands, Spain and United Kingdom. In each country, 2 differentiated systems are evaluated against a conventional one. The main claims for differentiation are given between brackets.}

 

In each of the 5 participating countries, 2 differentiated systems (differentiation is based on one or several claims, the main one being presented in Figure 1) are evaluated against a conventional one. The 15 systems were selected from an inventory of pork production systems existing in Europe that was conducted in 2008. In parallel to the inventory, a comprehensive survey of the available tools was performed under the supervision of Sandra Edwards, from the University of Newcastle (UK). This was finalised into a handbook of tools for the assessment of the sustainability of pork production systems at farm level which is currently being used for the evaluation of the above-mentioned 15 systems. The evaluation is multidisciplinary, as presented in Figure 2.

 

Further to the 15 systems selected from the inventory, three systems developed by a German farmer organisation will be evaluated, using the same tools, in close collaboration with Pilot chain 5 within Q-PorkChains Module A.

 

Data collection started in the autumn of 2009 and should be finished by March 2010. Data will be analysed in 2010, starting with dimension-wise analyses. A fully integrated analysis will then be conducted at the end of 2010.

 

^{Figure 2. The dimensions evaluated in the handbook of tools and the corresponding ISSUES and most involved stakeholders}