Type of indicator

Quantitative

Relative dimension and aggregated criteria

Environmental sustainability: Potential loss of biodiversity

Description

The treatment frequency index is an indicator of phytosanitary treatment intensity and product management. This indicator is based on the amount of pesticides applied by farmers on their agricultural plots over the production year. For each phytosanitary product, a certified standard dose is defined per ha and crop type according to the product’s technical guidelines. This indicator gives the number of treatments equivalent to full rates and full field application. It is equal to 1 if the farmer uses the standard dose. This indicator is adapted from Aouadi (2011).

Indicator interpretation

Higher values indicate larger negative impacts on the environment

Indicator calculation

Σ𝑗(Σ𝑖(((π΄π‘šπ‘œπ‘’π‘›π‘‘ π‘Žπ‘π‘π‘™π‘–π‘’π‘‘ π‘œπ‘“ 𝑃𝑃𝑖/πΆπ‘’π‘Ÿπ‘‘π‘–π‘“π‘–π‘’π‘‘ π‘‘π‘œπ‘ π‘’ π‘œπ‘“ 𝑃𝑃𝑖)βˆ—(π‘‘π‘Ÿπ‘’π‘Žπ‘‘π‘’π‘‘ π‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘’π‘Ž/π‘‘π‘œπ‘‘π‘Žπ‘™ π‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘’π‘Ž))/π‘›π‘’π‘šπ‘π‘’π‘Ÿ π‘œπ‘“ π‘π‘Ÿπ‘œπ‘π‘  𝑗)

Where:

π΄π‘šπ‘œπ‘’π‘›π‘‘ π‘Žπ‘π‘π‘™π‘–π‘’π‘‘ π‘œπ‘“ 𝑃𝑃𝑖= Amount of phytosanitary product i applied in crop j
πΆπ‘’π‘Ÿπ‘‘π‘–π‘“π‘–π‘’π‘‘ π‘‘π‘œπ‘ π‘’ π‘œπ‘“ 𝑃𝑃𝑖 = Certified dose of phytosanitary product i in crop j
π‘‡π‘Ÿπ‘’π‘Žπ‘‘π‘’π‘‘ π‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘’π‘Žπ‘–= Treated surface area by phytosanitary product i
π‘‡π‘œπ‘‘π‘Žπ‘™ π‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘’π‘Žπ‘— = Total surface area of crop j
π‘‡π‘œπ‘‘π‘Žπ‘™ π‘›π‘’π‘šπ‘π‘’π‘Ÿ π‘œπ‘“ π‘π‘Ÿπ‘œπ‘π‘  = Total number of crops on the farm

Unit

Score

Scale definition

Reference values Scales Dexi interpretation References
Minimum of 0 0 None + (Pelzer et al., 2012) based on European and French data collected from several arable crops

 

Scale built in a participative approach by scientists and experts
Maximum of 8 [0; 2] Low
[2; 4.5] Medium
>4.5 High –

 

References

Adapted from (Aouadi, 2011)