Mr Christophe d'Abbadie1, Mr Sud Kharel1, Dr Amir Abadi Ghadim1, Prof Ross Kingwell1,2,3
1Department Of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Perth, Australia, 2The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia, 3Australian Export Grains Innovation Centre, South Perth, Australia
Biography:
Christophe is an agricultural economist with postgraduate training in economics with the benefit of initially being trained as an engineer. He is actively engaged in planning, economics, operational enhancement, and modelling across diverse sectors, including energy, manufacturing, and agribusiness. His ongoing research centres on mixed farming systems, livestock, and horticulture production and it aims to uncover avenues for increased productivity whilst lessening emissions. His expertise extends to carbon-emission calculations, particularly within the national inventory, with a specific focus on agriculture and land-use, land-use change, and forestry. He has valuable experience in international carbon accounting and is proficient in life-cycle assessment.
Abstract:
Mitigating greenhouse gas emissions is an increasing priority for Western Australian grain producers. This study investigates the environmental and economic viability of integrating lupins and legume pastures into crop rotations at three locations in Western Australia's grainbelt. Modelling simulations using the Economic Valuation of Alternative Land Use Sequence (EVALUS) model were conducted at each location to examine the gross margins and emissions associated with including lupins and legume pastures in current rotations. Findings indicate that replacing canola with lupins consistently reduces emissions at all locations. However, retention of canola over lupins generally boosts profits, highlighting the need to develop other more sustainable and profitable alternatives to canola. Inclusion of legume pastures rather than lupins yields mixed results. A phase of pasture with legumes in the sward provides fixed nitrogen to subsequent cereal crops and thus reduces the need for applied fertiliser and educes attendant emissions. However, the trade-off is increased farm level emissions (Scope 1) from livestock grazing in the pasture phase, thus increasing overall farm-level emissions in several analysed scenarios. Modelling results demonstrate how land use diversification can support business resilience and profitability but also highlight the pressing need for technological and biological innovation to mitigate agricultural emissions. The results illustrate that continued research and policy support is needed to drive sustainable and profitable practices in dryland agriculture in Western Australia.