The Canadian government will give the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) $560,000 to develop the Canadian Agri-Food Sustainability Initiative (CASI), Marie-Claude Bibeau, minister of agriculture and agri-food, announced in a speech at CFA’s annual general meeting on Feb. 25.
“More and more, customers of Canada’s high-quality food want to know that their food was produced ethically, with a minimized impact on the environment,” Bibeau says in a release. “This new initiative is an important tool to tell our story and build consumers’ trust for our producers.”
The new initiative will provide Canadian farmers and processors with an online national platform to proactively meet the growing demand for proof of sustainability from customers. It will also serve as a hub to benchmark and track the sustainability of the Canadian agri-food industry compared to international standards.
“The goal is to provide farmers with an efficient avenue to connect with clients who recognize their hard work in sustainability. CASI will also aim to connect farmers to programs that serve as criteria to receive environmental funding,” Mary Robinson, CFA president, says in a release.
The end goal of the project is for Canadian food producers to be able to label claims about the safety and quality of their food products.
