Speaker: Claudia Schmidt Session: Sustainability in Agriculture and Agri-Food: Different Perspectives

1. Sourcing Sustainably –
Challenges and Opportunities
Bring Food Home
November 17, 2013
Claudia Schmidt
Senior Research Associate

2. Background
• Number of sustainability certifications/initiatives
increases
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–
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Whole farm certification
Commodity specific
Attribute specific
Customer developed
• Increasing demands by retailers and
manufacturers (McCain, Unilever, Tesco etc.)
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3. Recent Reports
Recent studies:
• Retailer/Manufacturer interviews
• Review of sustainability initiatives
• Farmer focus groups
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4. Presentation
Trends
Challenges
Next Steps
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5. EU
• Europe – Market leader in sustainability?
• Retailers/manufacturers drive agenda
• Germany
– Organic agriculture
– Whole farm sustainability schemes
– Uptake
– Market demand
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6. Canada
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Early phase
Respond in anticipation of customer demand
Nice to have vs. must have?
“Made in Ontario” commodity sustainability
certification program
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7. Canada
• Grain Farmers of Ontario
• Pulse Canada
• Grains Roundtable – Sustainability Working
Group
• Dairy Farmers of Canada
• Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef
• Canola Council of Canada
• Local Food Plus
• Environmental Farm Plan
• …
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8. Challenges – Producer’s view
Confusion around three pillars of sustainability
• Environmental
• Social
• Economic
Cost of certification
• Audit
• Record keeping
• Multiple programs
Change in requests
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9. Challenges
• Not a competition free space
• Performance measurement of
initiatives/certifications
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10. What about EFP?
Environmental Farm Plan (EFP) is a farmer-developed
educational tool to understand on-farm
environmental improvements.
• Addendum
• Advantages:
– Accepted, known in farm community
• Disadvantages
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Unknown outside of farm community
Uptake in ON vs Western Canada
Update expectations
Additions: animal welfare, labour standards
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11. What is Next?
•To protect market
access and increase
adoption of
Goal: reduce
sustainable practices
costs
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12. Funding
Investment in this project has been provided by
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada through the
Canadian Agricultural Adaptation Program
(CAAP). In Ontario, this program is delivered by
the Agricultural Adaptation Council.
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13. Thank you
Claudia@georgemorris.org
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