The Rainforest Alliance is strengthening its pioneering cocoa certification program, which is the world’s largest scale initiative to drive more sustainable cocoa farming. Key priorities of the cocoa strategy are assurance, shared responsibility, supply chain transparency, and profitability and resilience.
With the support of the cocoa industry, the Rainforest Alliance is taking this unprecedented action to facilitate greater accountability and oversight in the cocoa sector. The organization’s goal is to improve the economic, social, and environmental conditions of the cocoa industry – beginning with the millions of smallholder farmers in the first mile of cocoa production.
Phase 3 of our Cocoa Assurance Plan invites new groups from West Africa to become certified, provides an updated policy for farm and supply chain certification, and further addresses farm encroachment in protected areas and deforestation.
This Q&A has been developed to provide guidance to certificate holders and certification bodies with regards to the Measures to Strengthen the Cocoa Sector.
This policy sets out specific implementation requirements for certificate holders at both producer and supply chain actor levels (Certification Criteria) and for reinforcing the assurance process (Assurance Process Rules).
Information about a new approach we will implement in Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana beginning in June 2020 to strengthen assurance of our certification system.
Farmer poverty is an enduring issue in the cocoa sector. Our 2020 Sustainable Agriculture Standard addresses this critical issue from many angles, including the introduction of Origin Matching Mass Balance in cocoa.
Our 2020 Certification Program includes two financial requirements for the buyers of Rainforest Alliance Certified commodities: the Sustainability Differential (SD) and Sustainability Investments (SI). For cocoa, we will require a minimum SD of $70 per MT as of July 2022.
An explanation of the Rainforest Alliance full mutual recognition to ensure traceability.
This document provides the terms and conditions that apply to producers who register in the Rainforest Alliance Certification Platform (RACP).... View more
This document provides the terms and conditions that apply to supply chain actors who register in the Rainforest Alliance Certification Platform (RACP).... View more
At the Rainforest Alliance, we believe in a shared responsibility approach that encourages companies to do their part in ensuring a living income for farmers. This is the basis of our initiatives, the Living Income Module and the Living Income Fund.
Meet Kpomin Minrienne Kole Edi, a successful farmer and entrepreneur who has spent her life breaking barriers—from helping other women farmers in her community to advocating for global policy reform. This is her story.
The Rainforest Alliance’s Africa Cocoa Fund (ACF) is a three-year, $5 million fund to support cocoa farmers and help preserve the local landscapes in West and Central Africa.
Farmer poverty is an enduring issue in the cocoa sector. Our 2020 Sustainable Agriculture Standard addresses this critical issue from many angles, including the introduction of Origin Matching Mass Balance in cocoa.
