The Theory and Practice of Performance Indicators for Sustainable Food Security: A Checklist Approach

This article proposes a set of sustainability indicators based on a combination of economic, social and health data that meet three tests: the indicators are simple, measurable and capable of being extended to workers in the field. They result from a scoring model which ranks the progress of agricultural projects in three key areas: (1) sustaining improvements in agricultural productivity while minimizing negative impacts on soil and water quantity and quality or biodiversity; (2) sustaining expected farm-level profits while minimizing worker health and safety risks; and (3) sustaining improvements in rural economic and social conditions while distributing these benefits widely.