Market Development for Exporters

The SAI Platform is the main food and drink industry initiative supporting the development of sustainable agriculture worldwide. In 2002, Nestle, Unilever and Danone came together to create the SAI Platform. Today, there are over 100 members including companies such as Cargill, Coca-Cola, Ingredion, McDonalds and Kellogg’s.

Farm Sustainability Assessment (FSA)

The FSA is a questionnaire that allows farmers to assess and improve sustainable agriculture practices. Made up of 112 questions, farmers will answer the questionnaire based on their farm business and the practices they employ on the farm. Depending on the responses, farmers will be given a score of ‘not yet bronze’, ‘bronze’, ‘silver’ or ‘gold’. Depending on the market, some end users are looking for farmers to be within a certain range.

Farmers can use the FSA to assess and improve sustainable agriculture practices and communicate to customers in a consistent format.

How can exporters use the FSA to meet customer demands?

The FSA is a farmer self-assessment tool which allows farmers to assess their operation as it relates to the 3 pillars of sustainability; economic, social and environmental. If you are an exporter or company that is being asked about sustainability, the FSA will allow you to help meet these market demands.

Field to Market Canada is a collaborative alliance of grower organizations, agribusinesses, food companies and conservation organizations. It engages in broad communication with stakeholders to ensure a coordinated, outcomes-based approach to sustainable agriculture that is grounded in science.

Field to Market Canada provides a common framework for sustainability measurement that farmers and the supply chain can use to better understand and assess performance at the field, local, provincial and national levels. This supply chain sustainability program provides an unparalleled platform that helps the food and agricultural supply chain benchmark sustainability performance, catalyze continuous improvement and enable brands and retailers to characterize the sustainability of key sourcing regions, as well as measure and report on progress toward environmental goals.

Field to Market Canada’s framework for sustainability measurement is consistent with that of Field to Market in the United States. As a result, Field to Market Canada allows for streamlined sustainability assessments to occur throughout North America.

Field to Market Canada will leverage existing tools and metrics of the Canadian Field Print Initiative to ensure the program is tailored to locally relevant conditions and built upon prior technical investments from the Canadian agriculture sector. 

Field to Market Canada will offer the same core mission and commitment to multi-stakeholder convening and collaboration. Various programs and protocols developed for the U.S. context will be made available through Field to Market Canada over the coming year.

For more information please visit: Fieldtomarket.ca