Evaluation of Tunnel farming for more productive than traditional agriculture

Abstract

The transition from traditional agriculture to tunnel farming is expected to be beneficial for the environment, leading to increased productivity and lower CO2 emissions per unit of rice. However, it is unclear whether the benefits will outweigh the additional costs of this method. To evaluate this issue, we make a cost-effectiveness analysis using a lifecycle approach in which farm management costs are equated with environmental damages due to nitrogen leaching and soil degradation. The benefits of tunnel farming are found to exceed its additional costs by up to 89 percent when comparing long-run production levels between two simulations: one including fertilisation, pollution control equipment and other inputs for traditional agriculture; one including all inputs necessary for tunnel farming.