Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1218525
AROUND THE WORLD 17 The Case for CASP: Owning the Almond Sustainability Story As the saying goes, and as growers know all too well, change is inevitable. Advancements in agricultural science and the development of new technologies have led to greater efficiencies in the orchard, making today's California agriculture the most productive and emulated in the world. While the business of growing food has evolved over generations, so too has the business of marketing and selling food to consumers who increasingly want to know how their food is grown. This effort is challenging, however, as increasingly fewer people are directly involved in the growing and processing of food, leading food companies to look to handlers for more information on production practices. "Food companies today are asking a lot more questions about the sustainability practices of almond farming," said Gabriele Ludwig, director of Sustainability and Environmental Affairs at the Almond Board of California (ABC). "Some of those questions come to ABC, but most of them go to a handler because they are the contact point for selling almonds into the marketplace." The rise in sustainability-related questions and requests fielded by handlers was among the topics addressed during a session moderated by Ludwig at The Almond Conference 2019 in Sacramento this past December. During the session, panelists shared research that shows an increase in demand for products defined as "sustainable," an increase that exists among Millennials and Baby Boomers, alike, who say they are willing to pay more for products that are environmentally friendly and produced in a socially responsible manner. Market research also shows that while products marketed as "sustainable" had a 16.6% market share in 2018, they were responsible for more than half of market growth from 2013-2018. 1 "Meeting sustainability requirements throughout the supply chain appears to be the new normal, and handlers are on the frontline when it comes to providing assurance about almond sustainability practices," Ludwig said. "Their customers want evidence of progress related to water efficiency, pollinator health, energy use, greenhouse gas emissions and more. That means handlers must show — not just tell — their customers that growers are making continuous improvement related to sustainability, and that's accomplished with credible data." Fortunately, the California almond community has a 10-year head start on not only meeting sustainability requirements throughout the supply chain, but also defining what sustainability means for the industry. Almond industry ahead of the curve In 2009, in partnership with industry members and scientific experts, ABC developed the California Almond Sustainability Program (CASP), which is comprised of tools and modules relevant to production practices in California. These self-assessments help growers identify areas of improvement across their operation through modules that are both informational and educational. By answering a series of questions, growers can develop a database of their orchard practices, which can be organized into specific blocks or across multiple orchards and then compared to statewide industry averages. Farm-specific information entered by a grower is available only to the grower who entered it. However, growers can choose to anonymously share their data via the Supply Chain Program with their handler, who in turn can share anonymous, aggregated grower results with their customers. With individual farmer data protected, this opt-in approach by growers helps their handler answer sustainability inquiries from customers, such as, "What are your growers doing to help protect honey bee health?" "With CASP, we're not trying to add more requirements for growers, but rather, we want growers to get credit for the practices they're already doing and for the progress they've made," said Julie Adams, vice president of Global Technical and Regulatory Affairs at ABC. "The goal is to have a strong industry program that builds trust throughout the supply chain, which protects existing markets and opens opportunities for new markets." To that end, CASP has been benchmarked against an international sustainability assessment — the Sustainable Ag Initiative Farm Sustainability Assessment (SAI-FSA) — and further benchmarking with other global sustainability platforms is underway. Benchmarking against SAI-FSA, a globally accepted program, demonstrates to buyers that the California almond industry's priorities align with their own and gives the industry and buyers common ground on which to discuss sustainable production practices. "Having a common language is essential to being able to talk about how the practices almond growers utilize are appropriate and essential to being sustainable," Adams said. Differentiating California almonds as the sustainable choice It's no secret that California almonds are in high demand and well regarded around the world, with approximately 70% of the annual harvest exported to the European Union, China, India and other emerging 1 NYU Stern Sustainable Share Index, March 2019