The Sustainable Agriculture Network is proud to announce the achievement of two important milestones through the implementation of its farm and group certification standards. As of August 2011, more than one million hectares and 200,000 operations have received Rainforest Alliance certification. Total certified hectares represent those under agricultural production as well as farmlands designated for conservation. The good practices adopted by producers whose farms achieve certification mean smarter farming, the conservation of natural resources and the protection of wildlife and workers´ rights.

This achievement reflects the long-standing commitment of the Network´s eight partner organizations which have worked together for more than two decades to develop, promote and support the implementation of the rigorous SAN standards.  The SAN members could not have reached this milestone without the support of more than a million farmers and farm workers, who made the improvements to meet the standards, investing precious resources in the future of their farms, communities and the conservation of natural resources that will support future generations.

Since the birth of the SAN standards-setting initiatives in the late 1980s, the certification program has not only expanded the volume of certified hectares around the globe, but also the diversity of crops represented and the breadth of tropical producer regions where the program makes important impacts in biodiversity and sustainable farming practices. The program is currently active in over 30 countries and 25 different crops, represented in farms throughout Latin America, Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and the United States.  Hundreds of companies worldwide buy and sell Rainforest Alliance CertifiedTM products and demand continues to grow as it is now widely accepted that sustainability is smart business.

As the SAN celebrates these achievements, it is also helping farmers learn to produce more with less, improve crop quality, adapt to climate change, better conserve biodiversity and other natural resources, and strengthen rural communities.

The SAN is continually updating the farm-management guidelines, learning from farmers and integrating the latest science with traditional knowledge.  The SAN is also expanding its certification capacity which will create improved access to certification services through an expanded network of accredited certifiers backed by industry standards to ensure certification service quality. The SAN is also exploring new frontiers during the first implementations of its Standard for Sustainable Cattle Production Systems. ...

Over the past two decades, the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) has worked for biodiversity conservation and human development through the development of social and environmental standards. Since 1992, more than 700 certificates have been awarded to approximately 80,000 farms in 27 countries that have met the SAN standards. These farms cover over 700,000 hectares and include more than 20 different crops.

Throughout this time, the SAN has addressed critical sustainable agriculture topics through new initiatives that aim to expand the reach of agricultural best practices for producers throughout the world. Today, the SAN continues the work of strengthening its sustainable agriculture standard, promoting the implementation of climate-friendly best practices that improve the adaptive capacity of ecosystems and rural communities while contributing to the reduction of agricultural emissions. The first result of this initiative is the development of a "Climate Module" that adds voluntary criteria specific to climate change mitigation and adaptation to the SAN’s Sustainable Agriculture Standard.

The effects of climate variation are not a new topic for producers, their workers and rural communities. In the past several years, extreme climate events, which have also increased in frequency, have demonstrated the vulnerability of farms and the need to improve their adaptive capacity to these changes for their benefit and protection in the long term. Considering the current and future impact of global warming and the significant contribution of agriculture to greenhouse gas emissions, as well as the sector’s potential for mitigation, the SAN developed the SAN Climate Module. These additional voluntary criteria can be implemented on farms that are already Rainforest Alliance Certified^TM. This module is focused on raising awareness among producers so that they can become agents of change on their farms with the objective of reducing their emissions and improving their capacity to adapt to climate change...