The National Index on Agri-Food Performance is built on four priorities: financial performance, environmental stewardship, social factors and food integrity. | File photo

ESG standards will impact producers

The impact of farming practices extends beyond harvest. Each year’s decisions can shape outcomes for generations to come. Increasingly, sustainability is a hot topic and not just for the agri-food sector. Large corporations are now required to report on the sustainability of processes used to generate their products. The reporting requirements are referred to as […] Read more

The index is a domestic sustainability measurement system being developed through a coalition of government and industry groups, including agro-chemical companies like Nutrien and BASF, and provincial agriculture departments. | Screencap via agrifoodindex.ca

Sustainability index receives federal funding

Glacier FarmMedia – The federal government has pledged more than $3.1 million to continue developing a made-in-Canada sustainability index for agricultural products. “This funding will improve the National Index on Agri-Food Performance, helping the sector take advantage of market opportunities, and backing up our efforts with concrete data,” said Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Lawrence MacAulay […] Read more

A customer pushes a shopping cart past organic products at the Bio fruits and vegetables section in a supermarket in Gattierese, France.  |  Reuters/Eric Gaillard photo

EU organic output out of step with consumption

European farmers say they are encouraged to produce more organically even as consumer interest in the product wanes

CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — Organic consumption is falling in Europe even as governments mandate more production using that farming system. The European Commission is not paying attention to what people want, said Lode Ceyssens, president of the Belgian Farmers Union in Flanders. “They are not following consumer trends,” he said during a session on market and […] Read more