Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2025, 71(11):592-603 | DOI: 10.17221/462/2024-AGRICECON

From metrics to insights: Evaluating cereal farming sustainability in Catalonia using composite index approachOriginal Paper

Mahdieh Khezri Nezhad Gharaei1,2, Bouali Guesmi2,3, Jose Maria Gil Roig1,2,4
1 Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya – Barcelona Tech (UPC), Barcelona, Spain
2 Centre de Recerca en Economia i Desenvolupament Agroalimentari UPC-IRTA (CREDA), Castelldefels, Spain
3 University of Carthage, Mograne Higher School of Agriculture, Zaghouan, Mograne, Tunisia
4 Universidad Bío Bío, Bío Bío, Chile

Assessing the agricultural sustainability of farms is challenging, since it involves various aspects that can change over time and differ by location. This paper develops a composite index to evaluate the sustainability of cereal farming in Catalonia, Spain. Using factor analysis, we integrate 21 indicators across economic, environmental, and social dimensions based on the Farm Accountancy Data Network (2016–2021). The results show sustainability scores ranging from 2 to 5, with larger economic s farms outperforming smaller ones by 0.4 points. Five key factors explain the variance in sustainability across farms, with profitability, benefit-cost ratio, and agri-footprint carrying the highest weights. In addition, our empirical findings indicate that subsidy dependence negatively affects the sustainability of farms, while modernisation and environmental management improvements enhance farm performance. This suggests a need for size-specific policy interventions focusing on smallholder management capacity and broader climate adaptation strategies. The methodology could offer a practical tool for monitoring sustainability progress in Mediterranean cereal production systems, and for identifying possible sources of improvements with regard to more sustainable agricultural practices.

Keywords: cereal sector; factor analysis; farm level; indicator integration; sustainable performance

Received: December 4, 2024; Revised: May 29, 2025; Accepted: August 20, 2025; Prepublished online: November 27, 2025; Published: November 28, 2025  Show citation

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Gharaei MKN, Guesmi B, Gil Roig JM. From metrics to insights: Evaluating cereal farming sustainability in Catalonia using composite index approach. Agric. Econ. - Czech. 2025;71(11):592-603. doi: 10.17221/462/2024-AGRICECON.
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