FAQ: 2020 Farm Requirements
A detailed FAQ about the Rainforest Alliance 2020 Sustainable Agriculture Standard Farm Requirements.
FAQs
Certification has had a huge impact in bringing sustainability to the forefront of business thinking, but it must continue to evolve to provide more value to farmers and companies and ensure that people and nature can thrive in harmony.
That's why the Rainforest Alliance launched its new Certification Program, which entered into force in July 2021. The Sustainable Agriculture Standard, along with its assurance and technology systems, are data-powered, and based on the principles of continuous improvement, risk-based assurance, contextualization, and shared responsibility. This is how we can deliver more value to the two million farmers and thousands of businesses that use Rainforest Alliance certification to drive more sustainable agricultural production and responsible supply chains.
At the heart of the Rainforest Alliance
The certification program is part of the Rainforest Alliance’s strategy to drive sustainability at scale in the sectors in which we operate through interconnected interventions supporting certification, tailored supply chain services, landscapes and communities, and advocacy.
What We're Working On
Strengthened Cocoa Certification Program
Key priorities of our cocoa strategy are assurance, shared responsibility, supply chain transparency, and profitability and resilience.
Risk Maps for Risk Management
How we have tailored the implementation and verification of standards requirements on child labor and forced labor to the risk exposure of each farm.
Shared Responsibility
Our shared responsibility approach aims to distribute benefits and costs of certification more evenly between farmers and companies.
Ready to Get Started?
Begin your journey of certification with the Rainforest Alliance.
Additional Resources
Early Feedback on the New Certification Program: Kyagalanyi Coffee Shares Their Implementation Experience
Find out what Ugandan coffee exporter, Kyagalanyi Coffee, had to say about the new program—from the improvements to the challenges.
Learnings from the Field: Finca Esmeralda and the Future of Certified Bananas
After teaming up for an early implementation pilot of our strengthened certification program, both Finca Esmeralda and the Rainforest Alliance took away learnings that will contribute to a more sustainable banana sector.
Find An Authorized Certification Body
Rainforest Alliance certification is carried out by our authorized certification bodies. Find an authorized certification body in your county.
All resources for Certification
Rainforest Alliance Volume Calculator
This Excel calculator helps Supply Chain Certificate Holders (CHs) and prospects estimate the total amount of certified and non-certified volume purchased and/or handled in twelve months when registering in our new Rainforest Alliance program on the Rainforest Alliance Certification Platform (RACP). The calculator consists of one Excel file and one tab for each crop (Cocoa, […]
QGIS GUIDANCE – Guidance on Converting and Managing Geospatial Files
This guidance document provides some guidance on how to use QGIS with geodata. QGIS can be used to convert a file containing geospatial data (e.g. shapefiles) to a KML or GeoJSON file, manage geodata and make edits with polygon data. This will ensure that the data from Certificate Holders (CHs) complies with the requirements of […]
Template for Requests for Exceptional Use of Pesticides
Rainforest Alliance is developing the new Exceptional Use Policy, where exceptions will be granted for the use of prohibited pesticides as listed in Annex 7. To make your request for an exception, you can use this template and send it to ipm@ra.org
Rainforest Alliance Field Study 2021: Kenyan Tea (Summary report)
This report summarizes the findings from a research study commissioned by Rainforest Alliance (RA) to Ergon Associates Locals & Associates to the working and living conditions for workers and their families across a sample of RA-certified tea estates and small grower groups in Kenya. The study analyzed the most pressing issues facing the tea industry […]
KoBo Collection Form – Points
This form can be used to collect points with KoboCollect. Collecting points with using this form ensures all the required geodata is collected and can be easily documented in the GMR. Use together with the KoboCollect Guidance.
KoBo Collection Form – Polygons
This form can be used to collect polygons with KoboCollect. Collecting polygons with using this form ensures all the required geodata collected complies with the polygon criteria. Use together with the KoboCollect Guidance.