The International Forum on Assessing Sustainability in Agriculture (INFASA) was established by IISD and the Swiss College of Agriculture in 2006. INFASA aims to advance sustainable agricultural production by facilitating an ongoing strategic dialogue among scientists, policy-makers, producers, food industry leaders and consumers. This brochure outlines the need for this type of dialogue by examining the background of the issues regarding sustainable agriculture such as the concerns about projected global population growth, inequitable food distribution and increasing environmental pressures. Sustainable agricultural practices are ncessary to address these issues.
INFASA debuted with a Symposium in Bern, Switzerland in March of 2006. The Symposium included a wide range of stakeholders, including corporations, farmers, researchers and NGOs. Some of the key topics were: the need to coordinate transparent and standardized approaches for all stakeholders; the need for easy to understand measurement and assessment tools; the linkages between policy and practice; and the farm-level applications of these tools.
The future of INFASA includes not only the publication of the book Sustainable Agriculture: From Common Principles to Common Practice and its accompanying CD but also the development of a common understanding of the issue. INFASA will act as a catalyst in finding a common language to address sustainability issues in agriculture. In the next phase of INFASA the following key questions are to be addressed: What measurement tools and practices are needed by the various stakeholders? What are the most prominent and promising measurement tools and practices in use? How can we improve the use of measurement tools? What guidance can we offer for developing the next generation of sustainability measurement tools? How can we strengthen the data underpinning agricultural sustainability measurement? How can we use demonstration projects and promote capacity building?
