How to shape transformative actions in agriculture to ensure climate resilience and food for all?
Without undermining scarce biological resources or exceeding planetary boundaries.
CRIKIT+ ā An integrated multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) tool designed to assess the economic, environmental, and social performance of agricultural systems in the Portuguese context.
This tool develops a dynamic multi-criteria framework that incorporates techno-economic, social, and environmental indicators into a single score based on Multiple-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA), following the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP).
This versatile method decomposes complex decisions into a system of hierarchies, using pairwise comparisons to allow stakeholders to weight criteria and compare agricultural alternatives. A matrix analysis is then developed using the relative importance of each alternative across all criteria.
The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), developed by Thomas Saaty in the 1970s, is one of the most widely used methods in multi-criteria decision analysis. It structures a complex decision problem into a hierarchy of goal, criteria and alternatives, then derives priorities through pairwise comparisons using a 1ā9 scale ā where 1 means equal importance and 9 means one criterion is extremely more important than another. A consistency ratio (CR) is computed to verify the coherence of judgements; a CR below 0.1 is considered acceptable.
Read the original Saaty paper āSix crops under evaluation
Each crop is assessed across all farming systems using modelled agronomic, environmental and socioeconomic indicators for the Portuguese context.
Five agricultural alternatives
From conventional intensive farming to innovative agroforestry ā each system offers a different balance of performance across our criteria.
Conventional
Current mainstream practices relying on synthetic inputs and standard irrigation, designed to maximise productivity. Tillage plays a central role in soil preparation.
- ā¢Synthetic fertilisers and chemical pesticides
- ā¢Standard irrigation techniques
- ā¢Intensive tillage
- ā¢Productivity-oriented management
Organic
Farming system that excludes synthetic pesticides and mineral fertilisers in favour of organic inputs. The focus is on soil health and biodiversity, while tillage remains an important practice.
- ā¢No synthetic pesticides
- ā¢Organic fertilisers (compost, manure, green manure)
- ā¢Emphasis on soil health and biodiversity
- ā¢Tillage maintained
Regenerative
Set of best-case regenerative practices aiming to rebuild soil health, sequester carbon and reduce operating costs through ecological intensification.
- ā¢Eliminating tillage
- ā¢Planting cover crops
- ā¢Increasing crop diversity (long rotations)
- ā¢Integrating animals with adaptive grazing
- ā¢Keeping living roots in the ground
Agroforestry
Conventional agriculture combined with the integration of trees or hedges within the cropping system, bringing long-term climate resilience and ecosystem benefits.
- ā¢Integration of trees or hedges in arable land
- ā¢Same fertilisers and pesticides as conventional
- ā¢Long-term climate resilience
Agriculture 4.0
Digital and data-driven agriculture combining precision tools and innovative technologies to optimise inputs and improve decision-making.
- ā¢Digital innovation (sensors, IoT, farm connectivity)
- ā¢Drones and remote sensing
- ā¢Variable-rate technology and nanoparticles
- ā¢Data-driven management
- ā¢Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) for rice
Eleven indicators across three dimensions
Each farming system is evaluated using a set of modelled and expert-assessed indicators covering economic performance, environmental impact, and social outcomes.
Every indicator has been oriented so that a higher value always means better performance. Four indicators ā cost, climate impact, water use, and water pollution ā were originally measured as "the lower the better" (e.g. total costs in ā¬/ha, GHG emissions in kgCOāe/t). To keep the whole framework consistent, we reframed them as their positive counterpart: cost competitiveness, climate mitigation potential, water use efficiency, and water quality preservation. The original measurements and units are unchanged and remain visible in the raw data view ā only the presentation direction was flipped.
Run your simulation
Select a crop, choose how you want to weight the criteria, and discover which farming system performs best according to your priorities.
Select a crop
Choose a weighting method
Set your priorities
Methodological Appendix
The full methodology behind this tool ā data sources, quantification methods and calculations for every indicator.