Are you a farmer interested in getting Rainforest Alliance certified? Wondering what’s involved? Here’s a simple guide to the steps in the process.
1. Prepare for your farm’s certification audit
To be certified, your farm will need an audit. The first step is to prepare for the audit. Review and make sure you comply with all the requirements of the Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Agriculture Standard. Be sure to review all the supporting rules and policies. To help, the Rainforest Alliance offers online training to guide you. In some countries, we also have experts on the ground that can help. Here is how you can contact your local representative or trainer to get started.
2. Find an authorized Rainforest Alliance certification body
When you are ready, the next step to get your farm Rainforest Alliance Certified is to contact an authorized certification body in your area. This certification body will audit your farm. This audit will determine if you are complying with the Rainforest Alliance’s Sustainable Agriculture Standard.
Farmers are responsible for paying for the audit. And audit costs can vary greatly and depend in part on the size of the farm, its geographic location, and its complexity. For example, a farm that just produces a crop is simpler than a farm that produces, processes, and packs that same crop. Please contact the certification body of your choice for a price quote.
Find an authorized certification body near you >
3. Host your farm audit
Once you’ve chosen a certification body, its auditors will schedule a visit to your farm. During this visit, they will conduct field audits and make sure you are following the Sustainable Agriculture Standard.
After your audit, the certifying body will let you know if your farm meets all of the requirements of the standard. If you pass, great. You are ready for the next step. But if you don’t pass the first time, don’t worry. Your auditor will give you feedback on what needs improvement. Then, you can try again.
4. Sell your Rainforest Alliance Certified crop
Once you have successfully passed your farm audit, you’ve done it! You can now sell your crop as Rainforest Alliance Certified.
Any farm selling Rainforest Alliance Certified products must sign a legal agreement in RACP to use the Rainforest Alliance seal. With a valid License Agreement 2020 farms can request approval of the use of the Rainforest Alliance seal on their product by submitting the request in the Claims platform.
That’s it. Congratulations! You now have access to new markets.
Questions? Please email our Certification Program team.
