Abstract In this paper we assess the sustainability of Variable Rate Technology (VRT) application for different wheat intensive agricultural areas in Europe. Within the H2020 FATIMA project we developed an analytical framework to assess the environmental and economic sustainability of nutrient management in two Case Studies in Greek and Czech Republic, implemented with different fertilization strategies in the winter wheat production, compared with the conventional one. We look at the economic and environmental dimension expressed throughout a set of specific performance indicators implemented under the Water Energy Food (WEF) nexus framework. Considering that fertilization strategies significatively affect environmental impact as well as economic performance at farm level, we investigated how Precision Agriculture (PA) tools, and particularly VRT, most suitable for increasing efficiency in fertilization distribution, can improve and maximize efficiency of inputs and profitability of individual fields by targeting application where needed and at optimum rates. The study shows how, despite a general reduction of production cost and increase in gross margin, farm sizes and the level of efficiency of the “as usual scenario” influence the economic impact of the VRT. Looking instead at the environmental perspective of the analysis, the results provide evidence of a decrease of nitrogen (N) due to lower amount of fertilizers, as well as a better distribution according to the potential productivity of the field, causing reduced impact of groundwater quality (nitrate loss by leaching). On the other side, some constraints arise from the high cost and the investments needed to adopt VRT at farm level, one of the main challenges to be solved through adequate policy instruments.

中文翻译：

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评估可变速率技术 (VRT) 在不同小麦集约化欧洲农业区应用的经济和环境可持续性。水能食物关系方法

摘要 在本文中，我们评估了可变速率技术 (VRT) 应用在欧洲不同小麦集约化农业区的可持续性。在 H2020 FATIMA 项目中，我们在希腊和捷克共和国的两个案例研究中开发了一个分析框架来评估养分管理的环境和经济可持续性，与传统的相比，在冬小麦生产中实施了不同的施肥策略。我们着眼于在水能食品 (WEF) 关系框架下实施的一系列具体绩效指标中表达的经济和环境维度。考虑到施肥策略显着影响农场层面的环境影响和经济绩效，我们研究了精准农业 (PA) 工具，尤其是 VRT，最适用于提高施肥分配效率，可以通过在需要的地方以最佳比例施肥，提高并最大限度地提高投入效率和单个田地的盈利能力。该研究表明，尽管生产成本普遍降低和毛利率增加，但农场规模和“照常情景”的效率水平如何影响 VRT 的经济影响。相反，从分析的环境角度来看，结果提供的证据表明，由于肥料用量较少，氮 (N) 减少，并且根据田地的潜在生产力进行了更好的分配，从而减少了对地下水质量的影响（通过浸出损失硝酸盐）。另一方面，在农场层面采用 VRT 所需的高成本和投资会产生一些限制，