The Sustainable Farm and Food Initiative
Client: The Ontario Federation of Agriculture
Expertise Applied:
Food Systems Knowledge
Stakeholder Engagement
Facilitation
Sustainability
Networking and Relationship Management
Wilton Consulting Group, in collaboration with Synthesis Agri-Food Network and Orion Global Sustainability, worked with a coalition of Ontario farm and food organizations on a consultation process to clarify and streamline sustainability initiatives. The sector operates within a global agri-food system and evidence of a commitment to sustainability outcomes is an increasingly common expectation. In fact, there are already numerous sustainability programs in various stages of implementation throughout the global agri-food value chain, ranging from voluntary programs to more intensely scrutinized standards and codes that require third-party audits and certification.
Stakeholders across the agri-food value chain were consulted to determine the needs of the industry as well as to explore opportunities for enhanced collaboration with existing (and emerging) sustainability initiatives. Over the two-year project, over 100 organizations were engaged and 3 whole value chain events were organized and delivered. From this engagement, the Sustainable Farm and Food Initiative arose.
Value to Ontario Agriculture and Agri-food
Our work built the business case for the need for a sustainability platform that combines existing and emerging initiatives. We helped the Ontario Federation of Agriculture confirm the need to build such a platform to better serve its producers. As a demonstration of its value, the Initiative is now preparing to consult on a national approach. Now named the Canadian Agri-food Sustainability Initiative, you can find out more at www.agrifoodsustainability.ca. You can also follow the initiative on Twitter by following @sustainfarmfood.
This project was funded in part through Growing Forward 2 (GF2), a federal-provincial-territorial initiative.
