Carbon footprint of peanuts from São Paulo is lower than the world average

The carbon footprint of peanuts from São Paulo found in an evaluation study was 616 kg CO2eq/t of peanuts in pods (kg of carbon dioxide emitted per ton of product), a very favorable value, as it is 60% lower than the world average, considering values ​​deposited in the Ecoinvent database (product life cycle inventory database). This value can even be used to position it with regard to greenhouse gas emissions, in national and international markets.

The value will be presented by researcher Nilza Patrícia Ramos from Embrapa Meio Ambiente to crop producers at the 14th Producers Meeting and Peanut Field Day, on February 23 at Apta Polo Regional Centro Norte (Pindorama-SP). Knowledge of the carbon footprint informs consumers and the general public how much carbon dioxide is emitted to produce a given quantity of product. 

The work to survey the peanut Carbon footprint was carried out by the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) team at Embrapa Meio Ambiente, in partnership with the productive sector of São Paulo, with Embrapa Algodão and with Apta Polo Regional Centro Norte, with financing from Fapesp. The LCA methodology was selected because it is the most internationally recognized for this type of survey because, according to researcher Marília Folegatti, it has a strong scientific basis and allows the accounting of potential environmental impacts in the product's life cycle (in this case, from the cradle to the farm gate).

Anna Leticia Pighinelli, an analyst at Embrapa Meio Ambiente, emphasizes that the information used in the study was predominantly primary data (peanut experts), in addition to consultations with technical-scientific literature. The use of this type of data guarantees greater representativeness of the study. She also cites as an innovation the consideration of culture in the production system, with sharing of impacts related to the consumption of inputs and agricultural operations, which are used by all crops in the system, such as soil preparation and the application of correctives. 

In the case of peanuts from São Paulo, this sharing resulted in a reduction of up to 14,8% in carbon emissions. This means that if peanuts were grown in a single system, using the same practices as in this study, its carbon footprint could be 707 kg CO2eq emitted for every 1t of peanuts in pods. 

“This result represents the carbon footprint of typical peanuts, produced in the state of São Paulo, prepared from inventories already deposited in reputable LCA databases (Ecoinvent and SICV), allowing the peanut production sector, and also its consumers, access representative and competitive values”, highlights Nilza. Embrapa Meio Ambiente has also been working on quantifying the carbon footprint of other Brazilian agricultural products, such as soy, corn, sugar cane and coffee. 

The complete study is by Nilza Patrícia Ramos, Anna Letícia Pighinelli and Marília Folegatti, Vinícius Maciel (the latter, an innovation fellow) from Embrapa Meio Ambiente; Dartanhã Soares, from Embrapa Algodão; and Marcos Michelott, from Apta Regional Centro Norte.