Costa Rica
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Sustainable Agriculture
Photo by Chris Wille/
Rainforest Alliance
Bananas
To reduce the negative environmental impacts of banana cultivation and improve working conditions on farms, in 1991 the Rainforest Alliance and its partner groups established the Better Banana Project. The first standards for responsible production were developed during a year of meetings in Costa Rica that included feedback from agronomists, banana growers, community leaders, scientists, environmentalists, government agencies and others interested in improving tropical agriculture. Fifteen percent of the bananas in international banana trade have been cultivated on farms that meet the Rainforest Alliance’s rigorous standards for social and environmental protection. Read more about the project.
Citrus
As Central American farmers look for sources of diversification, oranges are an increasingly popular option. But citrus farming, like banana farming can have devastating environmental impacts. Conventionally grown, the fruits displace forest, pollute streams, create agrochemical runoff; and when juiced for export, the oranges leave mounds of rinds and pulp in their wake. Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) biologists and agronomists have developed a set of guidelines for environmentally and socially responsible orange production and have inspected and certified a 7,000-acre farm in Costa Rica that borders the Guanacaste Conservation Area. The farm will be an important determiner of the success of conservation efforts within the park, as it creates a buffer zone, extending wildlife habitat beyond the park’s borders. Citrus farms will continue to pop up throughout Costa Rica and SAN members will be present to help the industry improve farming practices for the benefit of workers and wildlife.
Read the profile of Del Oro Citrus.
Photo by Chris Wille/
Rainforest Alliance
Coffee
Coffee is northern Latin America's most important export crop, both in terms of the area under cultivation and its economic value. Not only has it transformed landscapes and economies throughout the region, but coffee holds an added allure for all those who enjoy a steaming hot cup every morning. Coffee is of special interest to conservationists because it covers so much of the region's middle elevations -- one of the richest ecological zones on Earth. See what’s percolating.
Photo by Chris Wille/
Rainforest Alliance
Ferns
Through a four-year-long process of research, experimentation and field trials, the Rainforest Alliance and the SAN developed standards for responsible flower and fern farm management. The standards cover all of the SAN's principles for sustainable agriculture, including ecosystem and wildlife protection, water and soil conservation, worker health, safety and rights, proper handling of wastes, and ensuring that farms are good neighbors to rural communities and wildlands.
In August 2002, after months of improvements, investments and repeated inspections by program auditors, nine fern farms in Costa Rica were awarded the Rainforest Alliance Certified green seal of approval -- the first fern or flower farms in the world to meet the program's exacting standards! These farms, varying in size from a few hundred square meters to 30 hectares (74 acres), sell their production to the exporting company Floreal S.A.
- Read the article from the Fall 2002 edition of The Canopy.
- Download the two-page profile [PDF].
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