THE NECESSITY OF A PRODUCTIVE AND SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE IS ONE OF THE EIGHT CHALLENGES OF THE SPANISH SOCIETY ACCORDING TO THE SPANISH R+D+I PLAN DUE TO THE ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPORTANCE OF THE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION. THE CONCEPTS OF SUSTAINABILITY AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ARE NEEDED WHEN SOCIETY LOOKS TO THE FUTURE. NEVERTHELESS, THERE IS A LACK OF DEFINITION WHEN MEASURING SUSTAINABILITY WHICH SHOULD BE REDUCED. IN THIS CONTEXT, THE DESIGNING OF A SUSTAINABILITY INDICATOR CONSIDERING A LIFE CYCLE APPROACH OF THE AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS IS PROPOSED. IN THIS RESEARCH PROJECT AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS WILL BE ASSESSED AND MEASURED ACCORDING TO THE THREE PILLARS OF SUSTAINABILITY (ECONOMY, ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIETY) USING, ALREADY VALIDATED AND SYSTEMATIZED, LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT METHODS. THESE ASSESSMENTS WILL PROVIDE THREE DIFFERENT BUT INTERRELATED MEASURES; THIS FACT COULD LEAD TO MISUNDERSTANDINGS ABOUT THE SUSTAINABILITY OF A SYSTEM. FOR THIS REASON AN AGGREGATED INDICATOR IS NEEDED IN ORDER TO COMMUNICATE INFORMATION TO THE PUBLIC AND TO DECISION-MAKERS. NEVERTHELESS, HUMANS ARE NOT GOOD AT INTEGRATING DIVERSE INFORMATION SOURCES OPTIMALLY AND THEREFORE TO INTEGRATE THE SUSTAINABILITY COMPONENTS TWO METHODS FOR MEASURING EFFICIENCY AND MULTICRITERIA ANALYSIS BASED ON OPTIMIZATION ALGORITHMS WILL BE USED. BOTH METHODS SHOW TWO DIFFERENT BUT COMPLEMENTARY PARADIGMS. A FIRST PARADIGM CONSIDERING DIFFERENT VALUE SYSTEMS THAT REFLECTS THE VARIETY OF IDEAS OF PEOPLE AND SOCIETY; AND A SECOND PARADIGM THAT SHOWS A COMMON VALUE SYSTEM WHICH UNDERSTANDS SOCIETY AS THE RESULT OF A GROUP OF PEOPLE. THE SUSTAINABILITY INDICATOR MODEL WILL BE VALIDATED IN TWO AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS: AN IRRIGATED ONE: CITRUS FRUITS AND A NON-IRRIGATED ONE: WINE VINEYARDS. DATA ON BOTH SYSTEMS WILL BE GATHERED FROM FARMS AS A PRIMARY SOURCE. THIS RESEARCH PROJECT WILL ALLOW OBTAINING AN ECONOMIC, ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL INVENTORY OF THE SELECTED AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS AS WELL AS A MEASURE OF THE EFFECT OF THE SIZE OF THE FARM, THE CROP-GROWING TECHNIQUES AND THE FEATURES OF THE FARM HOLDER ON THE SUSTAINABILITY OF THE AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS. MOREOVER THE BEST AVAILABLE TECHNIQUES FOR SUSTAINABILITY BENCHMARKING WILL BE DEFINED. THE RESEARCH PROJECT WILL FIND THE BEST SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES TOGETHER WITH THE BEST CONDITIONS TO FAVOUR THEM. THE SUSTAINABILITY INDICATOR WILL BE ABLE TO BE USED IN OTHER AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS. ALSO THE ACQUIRED KNOWLEDGE WILL MAKE POSSIBLE TO IMPROVE THE DESIGN OF THE COMMON AGRICULTURAL POLICY IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE A SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE AND TO IDENTIFY WHICH SPECIFIC VARIABLES SHOULD BE PROMOTED BY EUROPEAN REGULATIONS