A Study of the Smallholder Coffee Agroindustry Sustainability Condition Using the Life Cycle Assessment Approach in Bengkulu Province, Indonesia

The management of smallholder coffee plantations in Bengkulu Province has not yet conducted according to good agricultural practices. As a result, the productivity and quality of green beans produced are also low. The efforts to improve this condition need to be made in order to maintain the economic, social, and environmental sustainability of this agribusiness. The present study aimed at identifying the life cycle of the coffee agroindustry in supporting sustainable agriculture using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method. The results of the study revealed that the energy input from the use of fertilizers, herbicides, manpower, and fossil fuel was 4349.08 MJ/ha. The energy output from the green beans and coffee husks was 9763.39 MJ/ha and 13524.21 MJ/ha, respectively, so the efficiency based on the input-output ratio was 5.35. The emission values to the global warming potential, acidification, and eutrophication were 109.43 kg eqCO(2), 345.70 g SO(2)eq/ha/year, and 28.54 g PO(4)(3-)eq/ha/year, respectively. The coffee agribusiness in Kepahiang Regency is categorized as organic. The coffee agribusiness was economically feasible with a Net B/C of 2.87, but the land ownership which was 1.45 ha/household and the present agribusiness conditions indicate a low sustainability rate.