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.

"Consumers around the world are looking for more sustainable products, and I have no doubt that our innovative Canadian farmers can meet that demand. 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. By making sure everyone measures sustainability in the same way, we’re moving closer toward our goals both nationally and globally."

- The Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food

"The Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute is pleased to be part of a growing coalition of public and private actors working to improve the data and transparency of the agriculture and food system sustainability in Canada. As the Index evolves, so does CAPI and we are pleased to house the Centre as part of our ongoing efforts to advance policy solutions that realize the full potential of Canada’s agriculture and food system."

- Tyler McCann, Managing Director, Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute

"Together with an unprecedented coalition of partners, we will improve and promote the use of Canada's first agri-food sustainability index in the marketplace. In a more demanding food world, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's investment can help the country's agri-food sector to be a global leader in grounding sustainability claims in data."

- David McInnes, Executive Director and Founder, Centre for Agri-Food Benchmarking

• The AgriAssurance Program – National Industry Association Component, under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership, funds national-level projects to help industry develop, verify and integrate assurance systems to address market and regulatory requirements and to enable industry to make credible, meaningful and verifiable claims about the health, safety and quality of Canadian agriculture products.

• The Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute (CAPI) is a not-for-profit organization set up in 2004 with the mission to advance public policy on agri-food issues. CAPI works with stakeholders across the agri-food sector, including government and researchers to study complex and interconnected food issues and to advance ideas to address emerging challenges in the sector.

• 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. The pilot was led by the Canadian Federation of Agriculture with funding support from the AgriAssurance Program.

• The project aligns with the Guelph Statement’s vision for Canada to be recognized as a world leader in sustainable agriculture and agri-food production and supports the demonstration of trends across various components of sustainability through the four themes of the Index.

Associated links

• AgriAssurance Program – National Industry Association Component
• Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute
• National Index on Agri-Food Performance

For media:

Francis Chechile
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food
francis.chechile@agr.gc.ca

Media Relations
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Ottawa, Ontario
613-773-7972
1-866-345-7972
aafc.mediarelations-relationsmedias.aac@agr.gc.ca
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