Warakirri certified to Leading Harvest Farmland Standard
21 September 2023
We’re proud to announce that Warakirri is one of the first Australian agriculture asset managers to achieve certification to the Leading Harvest Australia Farmland Management Standard following an independent audit covering over 160,000 acres of properties operated by Warakirri under its various strategies including the Warakirri Diversified Agriculture Fund, Warakirri Farmland Fund and Warakirri Cropping.
Leading Harvest, a nonprofit organization founded in the United States, announced that it had launched its industry-leading program in Australia earlier this year, implementing a world-first sustainability assurance program designed to harmonise sustainability reporting across crops and regions.
The Standard identifies sustainable farming practices based on 13 Principles, 13 objectives, 33 performance measures and 73 indicators. It addresses economic, environmental, social and governance issues and includes measures to efficiently use water, agricultural chemicals and energy to grow crops for useful agricultural products; minimize waste; and conserve soils, water resources and biodiversity. It also takes into consideration the well-being of lessees of farmland, employees, contract management company employees, contract farm Labour and local communities.
Following a successful 12-month pilot leading up to the Standard’s launch and covering multiple sectors tailored to the Australian agriculture environment, Warakirri agreed to participate in the program believing this holistic program is best suited to drive positive change in the agricultural industry in Australia and promote sustainable practices and deliver long-term value for investors.
“Warakirri’s proud history and long-term experience in agriculture has taught us those agricultural investments committed to environmental sustainability, positive social impact and responsible management, produce higher and more sustainable long-term returns. Over more than 25 years, our investors’ expectations on sustainability have evolved and they are increasingly seeking sustainable investment strategies from asset managers such ourselves,” said Jim McKay, Warakirri’s Managing Director.
“Leading Harvest mobilizes the value chain to transition to a more sustainable and resilient agricultural system. By providing one universally applicable and third-party verified certification, our Farmland Management Standard gives farmers and agriculture customers a common language to scale best practices, standardising reporting and resolving inefficiencies across the sector,” said Kenny Fahey, Leading Harvest’s President and CEO.
“We believe the Standard sets the benchmark as a sustainability program that is tailored to the Australian agriculture environment. We are very proud of this accomplishment and thank our clients, staff, managers, tenants and business partners for their continued commitment to furthering sustainable agriculture,” added Mr. McKay.
