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The Next Phase of INFASA

Key questions to consider

• What measurement tools and practices are needed by the various stakeholders?
  A global survey will be conducted among stakeholders to assess what measurement tools and practices they are already using, how they are using them and what their emerging needs are. This research is intended to better define the purpose of the measurement tools and practices, and provide a preliminary gap assessment. Special attention will be paid to tools needed for ensuring sustainable agricultural products can be clearly recognized.

• What are the most prominent and promising measurement tools and practices in use?
  Building on the results of the first INFASA Symposium, we will create and maintain an information base of the most innovative measurement tools and practices either currently in use or that have significant potential to be used more broadly. This compilation will serve both to monitor best practices and to ensure we can take these into account when formulating INFASA’s strategies and activities.

  

• How can we improve the use of measurement tools?
  Measurement tools should help assess the sustainability of agricultural products and practices. Building on earlier results, we will focus on how the use of these tools could be optimized in various contexts. In addition, gaps would be identified in the use of available tools and the need for developing new or improved ones. This step could be presented during the next Symposium in order to share concrete preliminary results and gather further inputs.

• What guidance can we offer for developing the next generation of sustainability measurement tools?
  As agricultural sustainability issues evolve and information technology advances, new measurement tools are needed and can be created. How can we measure the carbon footprint of agriculture? How can we make use of new geospatial information and capabilities? Building on our understanding of best practices, their use and gaps in knowledge, INFASA aims to develop guidelines for, and coordinate the development of, the next generation of innovative measurement tools that have a higher potential for use and diffusion to a wide range of user communities.

• How can we strengthen the data underpinning agricultural sustainability measurement?
  A regular flow of good quality data is essential for assessing the sustainability of agriculture, regardless of the measurement tool used. Data collection should be done in the most economical way while ensuring good quality and standardization. INFASA could partner with organizations like OECD,¹ FAO or GEOSS² to look into the economics of data management and explore how data obtained through field-level monitoring and global observation systems can be combined to meet the practical needs of the agriculture sector.

  Traceability of food is now often required by legislation as well as by consumers. A special area of work could be opened to tackle the issues surrounding the data requirements linked to traceability.

• How can we use demonstration projects and promote capacity building?
  Understanding capacity constraints and effective ways of tackling them is essential for mainstreaming, and will be integrated as a theme into INFASA’s activities and events. The effective use of new and/or existing tools and methods could be introduced through demonstration projects, focused either at the farm, commodity or supply chain level, or a combination, complemented with capacity building/learning events to facilitate mainstreaming.

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