In the context of agricultural soil management, we define resource use efficiency as the ratio between benefits generated by agricultural production processes and the amount of stressed resources used. Stressed resources are resources for which competing demands or resource use conflicts exist. This can be due to the fact that a resource is scarce (such as land, water or money) or because its use conflicts with other societal targets (such as pesticide application with biodiversity conservation).

Increasing agricultural resource use efficiency is a target at the global, European and German national policy level. It is central to achieving a highly productive agricultural sector that minimises harmful externalities. Agriculture is characterised by the production of multiple benefits while utilising multiple resources. A comprehensive assessment therefore requires the appraisal of several efficiency indicators.