Synopsis (short abstract)This document summarizes the results of a pilot true cost accounting study to measure environmental and socioeconomic hidden costs associated with Irish potato and rice production in Bhutan, Burkina Faso, and Malawi. The results indicate that socioeconomic hidden costs are the largest, with excessive working hours and living income gap being the main causes. An analysis comparing the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) with traditional rice farming methods in Burkina Faso highlights the importance of using both mass-based and area-based metrics to fully capture environmental hidden costs and to provide a more balanced representation of impacts to decision-makers. This work also allowed identifying key challenges and best practices related to data collection for the true cost accounting assessments.
Cite this content as:
Drogo, F., Ilicic, J. & Ignaciuk, A. 2024. Hidden costs of potato and rice production – Insights from a survey-based true cost accounting analysis in Bhutan, Burkina Faso and Malawi. Rome, FAO.