The share of agri-food systems in total greenhouse gas emissions

Abstract

Emissions from agri-food systems are those generated by farm production activities (crops and livestock), land use change and pre- and post-production processes. The first two components result in emissions generated on agricultural land, while the third refers to emissions from supply chain processes including transport, processing and input manufacturing, as well as from household consumption and waste. While emissions on agricultural land are well characterized in the literature, with FAO disseminating annual updates that are widely used and inform the periodic assessments of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the quantification of emissions generated in agri-food systems beyond the farm gate is a more recent endevour.

This analytical brief presents results of the first database on agri-food systems beyond the farm gate developed by FAO. Statistics on absolute emissions and their shares are disseminated at the country, regional and global level, over the period 1990–2019. The database covers, in addition to emissions on agricultural land, pre- and post-production processes in agri-food systems, such as those linked to: i) the production of inputs (fertilizers, materials for food packaging); ii) energy generation and consumption in food supply chains (food processing, transport and retail) and at the household level (cooking and refrigeration); and iii) waste disposal (such as in landfilling, incineration and wastewater management).