Field-to-farm redesign for tomato production to economically mitigate climate change and improve water sustainability

Abstract

We present a combination of field-scale sustainable intensification and end-of-farm circular practices to economically mitigate climate change and improve water sustainability of fresh tomato farms. The field-scale practices redesign the conventional geometry of plasticulture to a compact bed (2–10 cm taller, 10–35 cm narrower) to increase input use efficiency. Life cycle assessment showed that compact bed geometry reduced GHG emissions by 6.7 %–11.4 %, and reduced input costs by 5.7 %–12.0 % per kg tomato. The reduced width from compact beds creates extra space between beds allowing more tomato per area, intensifying the system. The intensified field design reduced the GHG emissions by 2.5 % for all bed geometries, with no impact on costs, while increasing land productivity by 15 %. To increase the nutrient circularity of the system, biomass from the end-of-farm detention ponds can be harvested, composted, and applied to the fields as an organic amendment, termed harvesting-composting. Harvesting-composting decreased GHG emissions by 4–21 %, depending on the vegetation. When compact beds, intensified field design, and harvesting-composting are combined, this intensified-circular system reduces GHG emissions by up to 32 % enabling the fresh tomato industry to meet 72 % of the 2030 US GHG reduction target and 75 % of the 2030 target set by the Paris Climate Accord. The intensified system reduces irrigation volume though increased use efficiency while reducing runoff/drainage volume by decreasing the plastic-covered impervious area. When circularity is added, it increases the treatment of nitrogen and phosphorus before leaving the farm. To enable the adoption of the intensified-circular system, payments for environmental services for improving water quality, sequestering carbon, and producing more sustainable products were evaluated, and all but the carbon-based payment was significant enough to be economically feasible. The intensified-circular system has the potential to reduce 47,530 Mt. of CO₂eq and increase farm revenue up to $186 million per year for the US tomato industry.