Protein Industries Canada has announced a co-investment into the second phase of Canada’s National Index on Agri-Food Performance, alongside lead partners Pulse Canada and the Global Institute for Food Security (GIFS) at the University of Saskatchewan, with the support of David McInnes, Coordinator of the National Index on Agri-Food Performance.
The National Index on Agri-Food Performance is focused on developing a set of sustainability indicators and metrics related to Canada’s agriculture and agrifood industries, which will help increase Canada’s competitiveness in the global market. The Index will shine a spotlight on the sustainable practices being utilized in the industry, while also helping address where improvements can be made.
In addition to Protein Industries Canada, Pulse Canada and GIFS, more than 75 organizations spanning the food system are collaborating to advance this work.
This includes diverse representation not only from the agriculture and agrifood industry, but also from adjacent sectors such as financial services, innovation organizations, environmental NGOs, and federal and provincial governments. The partners are focused on showing how agrifood production and supply in Canada is economically, environmentally and socially sustainable. Additionally, they are striving to ensure that sustainability is communicated to both consumers and trade partners, helping build trust and improve Canada’s national agrifood brand.
“Canada has a reputation for sustainable production and processing practices. Having a set of metrics and indicators that measures these practices on a consolidated basis across the agriculture and agrifood sector will allow us to further back up our sustainability claims, strengthening Canada’s reputation and global brand and increasing trust in our products,” said Protein Industries Canada CEO Bill Greuel. “The ability to measure our sustainability efforts will help increase our competitiveness in the global market— particularly as we work to become a global leader in the production of plant-based ingredients and foods. Sustainability is an important distinguisher in this market, and this project will help further establish Canada as a leader in the area.”
Creating Canada’s first agrifood sustainability index involves tailoring a suite of globally recognized indicators that meet the needs of Canada’s agrifood context. The project also includes developing a series of papers to inform the index and policy implications. These actions will help present Canada’s sustainability credentials for the sector as a whole, including the plant-based foods and ingredients sector, improving Canada’s ability to meet the growing global demand for healthy, sustainable plantbased foods and ingredients.
A total of $659,000 has been committed to this phase of the project, with Protein Industries Canada committing $626,000. Project partners are committing the remainder and providing in-kind support.
“The world needs more of Canada’s vision for modern, sustainable agriculture,” said Pulse Canada President Greg Cherewyk. “This project gives Canadian farmers and the entire value chain the tools they need to quantify their sustainability performance through real data, ensuring the market is appropriately compensating our industry for the positive impact it has on the environment.”
This is Protein Industries Canada’s 34th project announcement, and the ninth under their capacity building stream.
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