Sustainable Farm and Food Initiative

Our Commitment to Sustainability

The goal is to develop an understanding of the sector’s needs through a consultation process that will include stakeholders across the value chain. The long-term intent of the initiative is to clarify and streamline sustainability initiatives by benchmarking program equivalencies and harmonizing verification standards.

This is not a new plan or program but rather an effort to develop a framework that will facilitate communication and reporting across the various commodity specific programs. Ontario farms are often home to multiple commodities and meeting multiple standards has the potential to become burdensome to farmers. Taking a whole farm approach, one aimed at connecting programs based on a common set of practices, will allow for sustainability actions implemented on farms to be recognized throughout the value chain.

The development of the Sustainable Farm and Food Initiative will be managed by the Sustainable Farm and Food Coalition Steering Committee, a collaboration of farm and food organizations.

Interim Report

For access to our interim report, click here.

Consultation Process

The stakeholder consultation process has been an important step for developing the draft framework for the Sustainable Farm and Food Initiative. The primary goal was to develop an understanding of the sector’s needs to clarify and streamline sustainability initiatives through a consultation process which includes stakeholders across the value chain. We reached out to producers, processors, retailers, food service, non-governmental organizations, and consumer groups to gather feedback and input regarding sustainability with a whole farm approach. This consultation process, which began in May 2016, consisted of key informant interviews and multiple stakeholder workshops/open houses. Information and presentations from these engagements can be found in the Interim Report above, or on the Media page.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Sustainable Farm and Food Initiative?

The Sustainable Farm and Food Initiative is an effort to create a system that will simplify the process of meeting sustainability requirements. The goal is to develop a framework, or platform, that will facilitate communication and reporting across various commodity-specific programs and create a “whole farm” approach based on a common set of practices, allowing for sustainability actions implemented on farms to be recognized throughout the value chain.

What are the benefits of the Sustainable Farm and Food Initiative?

The Sustainable Farm and Food Initiative will help reduce the complexity and cost associated with the increasing need for Ontario farmers to confirm their sustainability performance amid an increasing number of codes, standards, and verification requirements. Many of these programs have similar measurement and performance criteria, which creates significant overlap and duplication of effort. Through the Sustainable Farm and Food Initiative, stakeholders within the farm and food value chain will develop a process of identifying standards from different programs that are equivalent and eliminate duplication.

Will the Sustainable Farm and Food Initiative replace the Environmental Farm Plan?

The Sustainable Farm and Food Initiative will not replace the Environmental Farm Plan (EFP). It will build up the strength of programs such as the EFP and Growing Your Farm Profits (GYFP), giving Ontario farmers a unique opportunity to develop a robust and trusted sustainability initiative.

How is the Sustainable Farm and Food Initiative being developed?

The Sustainable Farm and Food Initiative is being developed through an extensive consultation process. Producers, processors, retailers, food service, non-governmental organizations and consumer groups will be contacted during the consultation phase, which began in May 2016 and will continue for 12 to 18 months.

Who is developing the Sustainable Farm and Food Initiative?

The Sustainable Farm and Food Initiative is being developed by a coalition of Ontario farm organizations in collaboration with representatives from the food and beverage sector, academia, and non-government organizations. Development of the Sustainable Farm and Food Initiative will be managed by the Sustainable Farm and Food Coalition Steering Committee.

Where will the Sustainable Farm and Food Initiative be implemented?

The Sustainable Farm and Food Initiative is currently focused on Ontario, but there is an emerging opportunity to collaborate with other provinces on a national approach to farm and food sustainability.

When will the Sustainable Farm and Food Initiative be in place?

We are currently in the early stages of a broad stakeholder consultation process that will include two value chain workshops, one during fall 2016 and the second in winter 2017. What we learn from this consultation process will inform the next steps in the development of the system’s architecture and implementation timeline.

Will the Sustainable Farm and Food Initiative be mandatory?

No, the Sustainable Farm and Food Initiative will be voluntary in terms of participation, however, given the current trend towards increased demand for sustainability assurances and verification of practices, farmers may be motivated to proactively participate to maintain market access for their given commodity(ies).