The challenge
Almost half the world’s habitable land is now farmed to feed our global food production system. What happens on these farms will determine our biodiversity, climate and future health.
A unique opportunity exists to harness the power of farming and land use to address the challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss and declining public health through the introduction of a common framework to measure the impact of agriculture.
However, there are barriers that prevent farmers becoming a driver of positive change.

The solution
The Global Farm Metric defines on-farm sustainability and enables farmers to measure their whole-farm impacts in a consistent way. It is designed to align existing assessments and create a common baseline of data.
Evidenced based and evolving, the framework is verified by researchers and farmers so that data collection is both practical and useful. It is outcomes focused to recognise the diversity of farming systems and practices.
The categories provide an overview of the farm’s sustainability, so none are considered in isolation and farmers are better equipped to mitigate negative impacts. The sub-categories and indicators identify impacts and unintended consequences to improve environmental, social and economic outcomes.
A common framework starts and ends with consistent data collection. It is not another certification, audit or management tool.

Click below to explore the Global Farm Metric categories, subcategories and indicators.
Key features
Global Farm Metric
Whole-farm
Measures environmental, social and economic indicators
Common language
A framework and baseline of data for all food and farming stakeholders
Aligned
A common language to align existing metrics around a holistic view of farm-level sustainability
Practical
Developed by farmers, for farmers
Outcomes-based
Measures the state of the farming system
Inclusive
Inclusive and applicable to all farming systems and landscapes
Evidenced based and evolving
Grounded in data and built on scientific evidence
Driving change
A common language drives positive action. It enables shared understanding, a supporting policy and economic environment and informed consumer choice.

Farmers
For farmers to be a driver of positive change, they must have a shared understanding of sustainability and be financially rewarded.
A common framework enables consistent monitoring and reporting of impacts so farmers can evidence and improve the production of nutritious food, growth of natural capital and delivery of public goods.
This data can be used to support consistent sourcing and investment by the financial industry and food businesses, as well as inform direct payment schemes.

Government and policy
For farming to be part of the solution, governments must create an enabling policy environment and monitor progress at farm level.
A baseline of on-farm data can be aggregated to track change at a local, national and international scale.
This can monitor progress towards sustainability goals and provide data for evidence-based agriculture and trade policy. The Global Farm Metric maps onto the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and is relevant to and supportive of 16 of the 17 SDGs, and 94 of the 169 SDG targets.

Finance industry
For financing the transition towards more sustainable systems, we must have a common baseline of data.
A common framework can support sustainable investment by the finance industry, informing farm support payments, access to new markets, and ESG reporting.
This helps to create a supportive economic environment that rewards farmers who are actively reducing their negative environmental, social and economic impacts.

Food business
For food businesses to support more sustainable producers, they need comparable information on whole-farm impacts.
A common framework and baseline enables food businesses to assess the sustainability of products across social, economic and environmental indicators.
As well as streamlining internal reporting, this can create a positive market incentive that rewards more sustainable farming.
A common framework of measurement and pool of on-farm data can also help agri-tech companies understand the impact of practice change and develop appropriate technologies.

The public
For citizens to mobilise consumer power, we need consistent and verifiable information.
A common language enables transparency and accountability across the supply chain. It can align food labelling and raises awareness of whole-farm sustainability.

Educators
For knowledge exchange that inspires innovation and drives change globally, we need a definition for sustainability at farm-level.
Expressed through the Global Farm Metric framework, a common definition for on-farm sustainability will enable dialogue between educators, learners, consultants and farmers.
Frequently asked questions
Still have questions? You can contact us via info@globalfarmmetric.org or @GFMCoalition on Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.
