News Vegetables
Feds announce funding to improve sustainability benchmark for agri-food

Canada’s federal government is investing over $3.1 million to the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute (CAPI) to make improvements to the National Index on Agri-Food Performance, which acts as a point of reference for companies to declare the sustainability of their practices.

CAPI will use the funding to include more partners in refining the tool, fix missing information, and create an upgraded version of the Index. The Index looks at how sustainable Canada’s farming and food sector is from food production to retail, covering things like how it affects the environment, the quality of food, and how it helps the economy and society. The new version of the Index will help show the agriculture sector is operating in a sustainable way, help Canadian food brands demonstrate their claims, and help consumers make informed choices when purchasing products.

The funding is being given under the AgriAssurance Program – National Industry Association Component. This program is under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership.

The National Index on Agri-Food Performance, Canada’s first agri-food sustainability index, was published in May 2023. This pilot Index was created through a coalition of 142 private-public agri-food partners, and was led by the Canadian Federation of Agriculture with funding support from the AgriAssurance Program.

“More and more people around the world are looking for high-quality, sustainable food products, and food brands need to respond to evolving market access rules to operate and enter new markets,” officials said. “While the agriculture and agri-food sector already contributes so much to Canada’s gross domestic product (GDP), helping companies break into new markets will help the sector become even more prosperous.”

CAPI is a not-for-profit organization set up in 2004 with the mission to advance public policy on agri-food issues.