New research projects funded by Hortgro aim to quantify environmental impacts across the South African deciduous-fruit value chain, focusing on carbon accounting and life cycle assessment for pome and stone fruit. The projects are being led by specialist sustainability consultancy Blue North.
The work responds to increasing requirements from export markets such as the United Kingdom and the European Union for consistent reporting of carbon footprints and wider environmental indicators. Growers are increasingly adopting practices such as composting and mulching to improve soil health, raising questions about whether orchard soils can be credited for carbon uptake.
"We've been measuring carbon emissions for a long time, and we understand them very well," says Eddie Vienings of Blue North. "But now we need to measure carbon removal — how much CO2 is being drawn out of the atmosphere."
The project will test emerging methodologies from the Greenhouse Gas Protocol for measuring CO2 removals and soil carbon storage. A pilot will apply these guidelines to existing soil carbon data from a South African pome-fruit orchard. According to Anél Blignaut of Blue North, "It's a very comprehensive and specific guideline. It might not fit the way farmers currently measure soil carbon, but we need to work through the methodology at least once so we can learn how to take this forward as an industry."
Results will be interpreted against targets from the Science Based Targets initiative, which provides pathways for emissions reduction and net zero by 2050. "They will have residual emissions that they can't reduce, so they will need to use removals to offset the last few percent," Vienings explains.
A second project applies life cycle assessment to apples and one stone-fruit type. The analysis will cover production, packing, storage, transport, and retail. "Life cycle assessments started with product carbon footprints," says Vienings. "Nowadays, other elements are also important, so we measure 16 different aspects in a life cycle assessment."
Beyond greenhouse gas emissions, the study will assess water use, pesticide-related pollution, land use, and waste. Data inputs include fertiliser and pesticide application rates, irrigation volumes, transport distances, and export logistics. The modelling will draw on sources such as the Confronting Climate Change database and use specialist software designed for life cycle assessment.
"You must know what all your impacts are, and not have carbon tunnel-vision," says Blignaut. The work is intended to identify impact hot spots and compare outcomes under different management scenarios. It will also support reporting requirements and preparation for potential Product Environmental Footprint labelling in the European Union.
By providing quantified, comparable data, the projects aim to support decision-making by growers and value chain participants across South Africa's deciduous-fruit sector.
Source: Fresh Quarterly
