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International Forum on Assessing Sustainability in Agriculture (INFASA)

From common principles to common practice

What is INFASA?

The International Forum on Assessing Sustainability in Agriculture (INFASA) was established by the International Institute for Sustainable Development and the Swiss College of Agriculture in 2006 as a multi-year forum to advance sustainable agriculture through the development and effective use of indicator and assessment systems.

INFASA aims to advance sustainable agricultural production by facilitating an ongoing, strategic dialogue among scientists, policy-makers, producers, food industry leaders and consumers. We expect that this forum will lead to a convergence of ideas, policy positions and practices on what sustainability means in agriculture, how it is measured, and how the knowledge generated can promote sustainable agriculture.

INFASA Activities

INFASA debuted with a Symposium in Bern, Switzerland, on March 16-17. 2007, hosting a group of actual and potential users of indicators and assessment systems, and evaluation system specialists. A unique aspect of the Symposium was the combination of multiple perspectives, including those held by policy-makers, corporations, farmers, NGOs and researchers.

INFASA's future direction builds on the results from the first Symposium, background research on the development and role of common Criteria and Indicator systems, as well as the intention to seek common ground with other major international initiatives designed to address the way societies measure sustainable development progress.

INFASA will act as a catalyst in finding a common language to address sustainability issues in agriculture. It will enable a focus on the various types of measurement tools required to effectively promote sustainable agriculture as well as on the data needed. Possible key areas of action are depicted on the following diagram.

INFASA is currently setting up its Advisory Board that will advise the Forum on strategic direction to contribute to the development and use of indicator and assessment systems for sustainable agriculture worldwide in the most sensible, efficient and practical ways. The Board shall include stakeholder experts from the food chain, governmental as well as nongovernmental organizations and academia. Additional funding will be necessary to secure the development of these activities.

INFASA Vision & Mission

INFASA's vision is sustainable worldwide agriculture where all stakeholders can get timely, accurate insight into the degree of sustainability of agricultural production, products and services.

INFASA's mission is to promote the development and broad application of standardized tools for holistic sustainability assessments in agriculture to enable faster and more widespread implementation of sustainable agriculture worldwide.

Towards a common understanding of sustainable agriculture
As a basis for INFASA's activities, a working definition is used. Introduced at the past symposium, it is based on the Brundtland definition of sustainable development (WCED 1987) and the SAI Platform's definition of sustainable agriculture and has been adapted and augmented by further dimensions (Häni et al.2003)1:

Sustainable agriculture adopts productive, competitive and efficient practices, while protecting and improving the environment and the global ecosystem, as well as the socio-economic conditions of local communities in line with human dignity.

Contact Information

We acknowledge the generous and continuous support of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC)

¹ Häni,F., F.Braga, A.Stämpfli, T.Keller, M.Fischer and H. Porsche, 2003, “RISE, a Tool for Holistic Sustainability Assessment at the Farm Level”, International Food and Agribusiness Management Review. Vol. 6(4):78-90.