Assessing environmental sustainability of insect farming: a PLS-SEM approach to evaluating lower carbon footprint, water consumption and land use efficiency

Purpose The proposed study evaluates the environmental sustainability of insect farming (ESIF) keeping in view the effect it has on important ecological indicators: carbon footprint reduction (CFR), water consumption reduction (WCR) and land use efficiency (LUE). Insect farming has appeared as an alternative as food demand on the globe escalates and environmental pressure from traditional animal farming increases. Design/methodology/approach The research design adopted was carrier-based on a survey research measure sampling insect farmers, agricultural authorities and sustainability officers. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze the data collected in SmartPLS 4.0 with the purpose to assess the direct and indirect association between the constructs. The quality of the measurement model was evaluated on reliability and validity, whereas the structural model, hypothesis tested and mediating effects were investigated. Findings The findings showed that CFR, WCR and LUE positively influence the marketability of insect farming (ESIF), with the true effects being significant. Mediation analysis also showed that the linkage of LUE and CFR are mediators for ESIF demonstrating a networking effect among the indicators of sustainability. Although WCR also had a positive effect, its mediating effect proved to be statistically significant only marginally. Originality/value The proposed research contributes to the existing literature in a unique way since PLS-SEM is used to understand and prove the enviro-efficient multi-dimensional conservation outcomes of insect cultivation. It also gives recommendations that are implemented by policymakers and other industry players since it shows the importance of increasing performance on certain ecological indicators.