Lan K. & Yao Y. (2019). Integrating Life Cycle Assessment and Agent-Based Modeling: A Dynamic Modeling Framework for Sustainable Agricultural Systems. Journal of Cleaner Production, 238, 117853.
In this recent scientific study, a remarkably interesting use of agent-based modeling to assess agricultural sustainability is presented. Using agent-based modeling techniques and connecting the resulting models with a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and a Techno-Economic Analysis (TEA) framework, an overall sustainability assessment is conducted. In this way, the advantages of agent-based modeling techniques, that make them a favorable tool for this kind of system modeling, were combined with a technical analysis and evaluation of the system of interest that is provided by LCA and TEA, in environmental and economic sustainability terms respectively. Thus, a dynamic modeling framework, taking into account not only cost/profit related factors but also behavioral, social and environmental awareness related aspects of how a farm is managed, can provide a more complete point of view in environmental policy making in agriculture. Such results could be used by policymakers and stakeholders in order for them to achieve higher and better targeted impact in environmental actions concerning agricultural systems.
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