This review paper synthesizes the application and evolution of environmentally extended input–output (EEIO) analysis in agricultural research, drawing on 647 publications (Scopus and Web of Science, 1978–2025) following the PRISMA method and using the Bibliometrix package in the R statistical computing environment. EEIO has become a leading method for assessing system-level environmental impacts by quantifying direct and indirect flows across complete supply chains. Bibliometric and thematic analyses reveal accelerated growth since 2015 and four principal domains of enquiry: emissions embodied in trade, water-resource management, energy and climate impacts, and the sustainability of agri-food supply chains. EEIO’s principal value lies in its capacity to support production- versus consumption-based accounting and to reveal intersectoral trade-offs that single-sector approaches overlook. However, standard EEIO frameworks remain constrained by fixed technical coefficients, coarse sectoral aggregation, and uncertainty in environmental extensions, which limit their capacity to resolve farm-scale processes, structural change, and feedbacks. To enhance analytical rigor and policy relevance, we advocate hybridization with life-cycle and farm-level data, development of higher-resolution multi-regional EEIO tables, incorporation of stochastic and scenario analyses, dynamic formulations to capture technological change, and adoption of open-data standards with transparent reporting. Advancing these priorities will improve comparability, reproducibility and the practical uptake of EEIO for evidence-based transitions in agricultural systems.
Grassi et al. (Thu,) studied this question.
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