Rainforest Alliance Opens Consultation on New Sustainable Agriculture Standard for Cocoa

Rainforest Alliance has opened a public consultation on the draft of its new Sustainable Agriculture Standard, which has been developed to address environmental dynamics and increasing regulatory requirements within the cocoa supply chain.

The key focus areas of the new standard, which will take its final form following a consultation process running until October, are:

• Preventing Deforestation: Protecting biodiversity and halting ecological damage.
• Soil Health: Encouraging regenerative farming practices that will boost yields.
• Enhanced Traceability: Recording the product’s journey from farm to shelf in a manner that meets international transparency requirements.
• Farmer Support Systems: Social mechanisms to safeguard the climate resilience and livelihoods of rural producers.

The organisation states that this revised approach will make it easier for both producers and supply chain stakeholders to adapt to changing global market expectations. The final version of the standard will be shaped by feedback from stakeholders.