The Impact of Farmer Differentiation Trends on the Environmental Effects of Agricultural Products: A Life Cycle Assessment Approach

Farmer differentiation has led to significant differences in input behaviors, presenting new challenges for agricultural environmental governance. However, previous studies evaluating agricultural production systems often overlook the impact of farmer heterogeneity, and the relationship between farmer differentiation and environmental impacts remains unclear. This study takes the apple production system as a case and employs life cycle assessment (LCA) using the IMPACT2002+ model to establish environmental impact evaluation indicators for agricultural products. The environmental impacts of different types of farmers are analyzed. The findings are as follows: Overall, orchard systems under Type II part-time farmer (PTF(II)) management show the highest environmental impacts, whereas Type I part-time farmer (PTF(I)) systems exhibit the lowest, with pure farmer (PF) systems falling in between. Endpoint assessments reveal that human health is the most affected, with resource impacts being the least significant. Further analysis reveals that fertilizers are the primary environmental hotspot in the apple production system. For PFs and PTFs(I), the second-largest source of pollution in the orchard system is the purchase of storage services, whereas for PTFs(II), it is irrigation. Therefore, the government should strengthen the management of fertilizers and irrigation, and promote measures such as eco-friendly fertilizers and water-saving technologies, thereby reducing the environmental burden of production.