Emergy evaluation of Sicilian red orange production. A comparison between organic and conventional farming

This study examines, by using emergy analysis, the production of red orange in Sicily in order to evaluate resource use, productivity, environmental impact and overall sustainability. Four different sicilian farms were studied in order to compare conventional with organic production. Several indices derived from the emergy evaluation were used: the emergy yield ratio (EYR); the environmental loading ratio (ELR); the index of sustainability (SI). Organic orange production appears to use more renewable resources and less purchased energy and materials.