What is this document about?

This annex contains additional binding content for the requirements included in the Rainforest Alliance standards related to farming.

This document includes:

• Additional information related to base requirements on agrochemical management including Prohibited Pesticides List, Obsolete Pesticides List and Risk Mitigation List.

• Additional details on Health and Safety for workers handling pesticides for the Sustainable Agriculture Standard.

• Additional information on farming practices for the Regenerative Agriculture Standard.

When and how to use this document?

This document offers Certificate Holders and Certification Bodies additional details of requirements and their implementation. The document is divided into three sections:

• Base Requirements from the Farm standards.

• Requirements from the Sustainable Agriculture Standard.

• Requirements from the Regenerative Agriculture Standard.

Base requirements are applicable to all Farm standards. Requirements from the Sustainable Agriculture Standard and requirements from the Regenerative Agriculture Standard sections include specialized and/or continuous improvement requirements applicable to the respective standard.

Changes in update from v1.3 to v1.4

Base requirements for Farm standards  

This section provides further details for the implementation of the respective base requirements of the Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Agriculture Standard (SAS) and the Regenerative Agriculture Standard (RAS).

1. Non-use of Prohibited and Obsolete Pesticides

Certified farms are strictly prohibited from using Prohibited and Obsolete pesticides. These substances are either classified as Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs), posing significant risks to human health and the environment, or they are no longer formally registered, produced, or are widely banned.

2. Management of Risk Mitigation Pesticides

The use of the Risk Mitigation pesticides is discouraged, and producers should strive to avoid the use of these pesticides as they are known to bear significant human health and environmental risks. These substances should only be applied within the context of an IPM strategy, and only when the related risk mitigation measures to protect people and the environment are fully implemented.

2.2 Risk mitigation measures for use of Risk Mitigation Pesticides, linked to 4.6.2

If substances from the Risk Mitigation Pesticides list are used, the following specific risk mitigation measures must be implemented according to the different risk categories:

1. Pesticides indicating higher-level personal protection required means that occupational exposure risk assessments have demonstrated potential for significant acute or chronic risks from exposure. Pesticides listed under Higher-level Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) are only applied if:

   1. PPE is used as prescribed in the product’s label or Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS). If labels do not provide details of PPE for applicators, basic protective clothing with protection for eyes (i.e., a face mask or goggles) and respiratory protection (i.e., a respirator) must be worn.

2. Pesticides listed as having risk to aquatic life or risk to terrestrial wildlife are only applied if:

   1. Mechanisms are established and maintained to avoid contamination by pesticides, through spray drift or other pathways, from treated areas to other non-targeted areas, including natural ecosystems, public roads, areas with human activity and infrastructure. Such mechanisms include non-crop vegetative barriers or non-application zones, or other effective methods.

3. Pesticides listed as having risk to pollinators are only applied if:

   1. Less toxic, efficacious pesticides are not available; and

   2. Exposure of natural ecosystems to pesticides is minimized by establishing non-application zones, or vegetative barriers; and

   3. Contact of pollinators with these substances is further reduced through:

      1. Substances are not applied to flowering weeds, or flowering weeds are removed; and

      2. Substances are not applied while the crop is in its peak flowering period.

         Not applicable to banana, cocoa, grapes, lemongrass, pineapple, psyllium, sugar cane, and tea.

4. Pesticides listed as having bystander risk have an increased inhalation risk and are only applied if:

   1. Restricted Entry Intervals (REI) are enforced; and

   2. All application sites are flagged to indicate inhalation risks to bystanders.

   3. Pesticide handlers use respirators with an organic vapor (OV) cartridge or canister with any N, R, P, or 100-series filter.

Bystanders are defined as persons, other than farm workers, pesticide handlers, or their families, who are exposed to pesticides by inhalation.

3. Exceptional use procedures

To support producers phasing out Highly Hazardous Pesticides, under exceptional circumstances, exceptions can be granted for the use of active ingredients included in the Rainforest Alliance list of Prohibited pesticides. Exceptions can be granted for specific crop/pest and geographical scope (country or part of the country).

For Certificate Holders certified under the Regenerative Agriculture Standard, exception requests are further evaluated based on the availability of viable alternatives, the toxicity of the substances, and their potential impact on ecosystem health and long-term recovery.

3.1 Exceptional use Policy linked to 4.6.2

The granted exceptions and conditions of each request for using prohibited pesticides are included in the Exceptional Use Policy linked to base requirement 4.6.2 of the Rainforest Alliance Standards. Producers do not need to get additional approval to use an exception that is already included in the Exceptional Use Policy.

When exceptions are granted, these are granted for a specific, limited period. In cases where this is not realistic, Rainforest Alliance may choose a different timeframe. Following an evaluation by the Rainforest Alliance's technical IPM team, any granted exceptions will be incorporated into the Exceptional Use Policy. This policy will be revised and published biannually following the procedure outlined below.

1. The Certificate Holder submits an official application to use a prohibited active ingredient through the Requests for Exceptional Use of Pesticides form.

2. Requests submitted by June 30^th will be reviewed in the second half of the same year, while those submitted between July 1^st and December 31^st will be reviewed in the first half of the following year.

3. The Rainforest Alliance will publish an updated version of the Exceptional Use Policy including the exceptions granted and their conditions in January and July every year.  

3.2 Emergency exceptions

In cases where there is an urgent and temporary justifiable need to use a prohibited active ingredient not covered by the Exceptional Use Policy procedure, Certificate Holders can request an emergency exception. These exceptions are specific to each Certificate Holder, temporary, one-time, and non-extendable.  

For submitting an emergency request, Certificate Holders must fill this form for Emergency Requests for Exceptional Use of Pesticides with details of the necessity, context, and period in which the substance is needed.

The technical IPM team will evaluate the requests, and within a minimum of five business days, a response will be sent directly to the Certificate Holder. The response will inform the Certificate Holder whether an exception has been granted and outline any applicable conditions.

4. Conditions for aerial application of pesticides

This section provides the requirements for the application of pesticides with aerial piloted vehicles and drones to comply with base requirement 4.6.7 of the Rainforest Alliance standards.

4.1 Aerial application by piloted vehicles linked to 4.6.7

Aerial application of pesticides needs to comply with applicable law in the country of use, or the following requirements, whichever is stricter, unless defined differently by the Rainforest Alliance. The Rainforest Alliance requirements for aerial application set out below may be adapted in future based on scientific evidence.

1. Aerial application by helicopters, planes, or other piloted aerial vehicles that carry liquids for aerial application must be:

   1. Conducted by a competent technician,

   2. Consistent with MSDS and/or label instructions, rates, and precautions.

2. Aerial application by helicopters, planes, or other piloted aerial vehicles are prohibited in the following situations:

   1. Agrochemicals with WHO classification 1A Extremely hazardous for human health, and 1B Highly hazardous for human health.

   2. Aerial application of agrochemicals on areas outside the legal limits of the farm, including public roads^[7], areas with human activity^[8], animal farms, and natural ecosystems, which include aquatic ecosystems.

   3. Aerial application of agrochemicals when one of the following conditions occurs:

      1. Temperature exceeds 30° C.

      2. Wind speed exceeds 15km/h.

      3. There is an inversion phenomenon.

3. Equipment used for aerial application by helicopters, planes, or other piloted aerial vehicles must respect the following conditions:

   1. The aircraft is equipped with Global Positioning Systems (GPS), and with automatic shut-off valves connected to the GPS system or manual shut-off valves.

   2. The length of the application boom is at a maximum of 80% of the wing length.

   3. The application equipment is in optimal condition according to its specifications.

   4. Application equipment is calibrated every six months by a competent technician and calibration records are kept.

4. Aerial application by helicopters, planes, or other piloted aerial vehicles respect the following requirements to protect human health and natural ecosystems:

   1. Visible signaling systems or effective warning mechanisms are implemented for the notification and protection of third parties. Including

      1. In the case of roads managed by the farm or group administrator, people that may be affected by the aerial application are identified and notified in advance.

      2. Access to the application areas is prohibited, roads in these areas are closed, and the corresponding re-entry periods are respected.

   2. A flight plan^[9] that mitigates negative impacts to the adjacent areas of the application area is designed. Agrochemicals are applied in the determined area within the flight plan, and the agrochemical non-application zones are respected. The flight altitude is a maximum of 5 meters above the crop or vegetative barriers canopy.

   3. Aerial drift to the adjacent areas is prevented through vegetative barriers or non-application zones. Agrochemical non-application zones are at a minimum:

      1. 30 meters wide next to public roads, areas with human activity, animal farms, and natural ecosystems (except rivers).

      2. In the case of rivers, a 15 meter non-application zone for each riverbank applies.

   4. In the case of applications over primary or secondary drains with permanent^[10] water:

      1. Drainage canals up to 6 meters in width are covered with vegetation.

      2. Wider drainage canals are lined by vegetation that covers the canals as much as possible (e.g., trees or any other type of vegetation) within three years after certification. Application over wider drains is avoided when possible.

      3. The planting and coverage of the drainage canals may be implemented in the first three years of certification, provided that in the first and second year, at least one-third of the canals are planted.

5. Each aerial application is documented with an operational report, including:

   1. Location of the property.

   2. Date and time of application (start and end time).

   3. Type of service performed and type of application equipment, including the width of the effective deposition range, model, prefix, and type of aircraft.

   4. Treated crops and area (in hectares) with a sketch of the area indicating its boundaries, barriers, roads, power grids, buildings, sensitive areas (areas with human activity and natural ecosystems), magnetic north, and geographic coordinates (at least one point).

   5. Applied agrochemicals, including label name, the active ingredient, concentration (volume per liter, mass per kg, or percentage of the active ingredient) for each product, and quantity of each product applied.

   6. Name(s) of the handlers of the agrochemicals.

   7. Flight and application parameters: height of the flight, weather conditions during application time, temperature range, wind speed, and direction.

   8. The direction of application ranges (shots); location of the flight track through georeferencing, specifying whether the application was performed with the Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS).

4.2 Aerial application by drones linked to 4.6.7

The following requirements apply for drones and other Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). As the use of drones and the legal regulations develop quickly, these requirements may be updated in the future.

1. Aerial application of pesticides by drones follows all existing legislation in the country of application. This includes all legislation applicable to drones and/or UAVs in general, and to the aerial application of pesticides by drones and/or UAVs in particular.

2. Drones used for the aerial application of agrochemicals are specifically designed and produced for the task of aerial application of chemicals. The drones have safety settings to avoid flying out of the area to be sprayed in case of loss of signal, including flying back to the pilot, hovering in place and/or coming down slowly vertically. The pilot follows all guidance from the producer of the drone, including maximum speeds.

3. Aerial application by drones is performed by licensed pilots who are trained specifically for this task by licensed trainers. Pilots must have at least 1 year of experience flying drones professionally, including at least 6 months, and/or 25 flying hours of experience flying drones designed for aerial application. Pilots carry out a minimum of 50 hours of flying per year with such drones.

4. Before the flight, the pilot receives written documentation of the chemical(s) used (brand name, active ingredient(s), concentration, and all health and environmental risks associated with the active ingredient(s) in that concentration).

5. The flight plan includes where and how to refill the containers.

6. Aerial drift to adjacent areas is prevented through vegetative barriers or non-application zones. Agrochemical non-application zones for drone application are at least 10 meters wide. Certificate Holders may request an exception from the Rainforest Alliance through their relevant Certification Bodies to reduce the non-application zones to 5 meters where they can provide evidence of the accuracy of drone application within these parameters. Exceptions must be requested and granted before the application occurs.  

7. Prior to the flight, the pilot is equipped with a procedure and tools for recovering the vehicle, cleaning up and storing chemicals, and alerting individuals potentially affected by the drone and any chemical spillage.

8. The pilot follows all guidance from the producer of the chemical(s) used, including not using concentrations higher than allowed.

9. More than one drone can be flown simultaneously, provided that the navigation systems and flight plans of the drones cannot interfere with each other. One pilot may operate up to three drones at the same time.

10. If aerial application of agrochemicals is conducted by a subcontractor, the farm owner is liable in case of any accidents or negative effects associated with the use of the drone and responsible for the mitigation of all damage related to it, unless otherwise agreed between the farm owner and subcontractor.

11. Certificate Holders need to keep records for at least five years of any accident involving drones used for aerial application and made them available upon request by the auditors or the Rainforest Alliance.

Requirements from the Sustainable Agriculture Standard

This section provides additional details for the implementation of the respective specialized and/or continuous improvement requirements applicable only to the Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Agriculture Standard (SAS).

5. Health and Safety related to agrochemical use

Handling pesticides poses a health risk for workers. Compliance with specialized requirement 5.6.13 is crucial for preventing and mitigating these risks.

5.1 Medical examination for workers linked to 5.6.13

Under specialized requirement 5.6.13 of the Sustainable Agriculture Standard, management must ensure that workers handling hazardous agrochemicals have an annual medical examination. These medical records must be kept confidential, and workers must have access.

Workers handling organophosphates and carbamate pesticides must undergo pre-exposure cholinesterase baseline testing along with periodic monitoring and testing, following medical guidelines. Workers must be informed of the test results in private.

If adverse health effects occur, management must promptly mitigate the risk of other personnel being impacted. Management must implement remediation actions based on medical recommendations, such as temporarily reassigning tasks and providing necessary medical assistance to affected workers. These actions should be taken at no cost to the worker and without affecting their remuneration. This approach underscores the importance of maintaining the health and safety of those handling pesticides.

Organophosphates and carbamates can inhibit cholinesterase enzymes, causing similar symptoms in both acute and chronic exposures. Exposure can occur through various routes in the same individual due to multiple uses, and there is a possibility of additional toxicity with concurrent exposure to organophosphates.

5.2 List of organophosphates and carbamate pesticides

Requirements from the Regenerative Agriculture Standard

This section provides additional details for the implementation of the respective specialized and/or continuous improvement requirements applicable only to the Rainforest Alliance Regenerative Agriculture Standard (RAS).

6. Plant varieties for planting, renovation and rehabilitation

This section presents information relevant to compliance with specialized requirement 4.1.4 of the Regenerative Agriculture Standard about the selection of diverse, pest and disease-resistant or tolerant plant varieties.

6.1 Selection of plant varieties linked to specialized requirement 4.1.4

When undertaking planting, grafting, or renovation of production areas the following crop specific requirements must be adhered to.

7. Rehabilitation and renovation of crops

This section sets out the provisions related to the specialized requirement 4.2.2 of the Regenerative Agriculture Standard, aimed at improving crop health and productivity.

7.1 Implementation of rehabilitation and renovation practices linked to specialized requirement 4.2.2

When determining which production areas should undergo renovation or rehabilitation, producers should refer to the prescribed cycle for each crop, considering the age of the plants (in years) to ensure sustained productivity and profitability.

Producers must keep detailed records of the practices implemented specifying which practices were implemented, when, to which farm unit and make them available upon request by the auditors or the Rainforest Alliance. Records should include rehabilitation, renovation, pruning, stumping and/or grafting activities.

The following crop-specific requirement should be taken into account when carrying out rehabilitation or renovation activities.

8. Soil fertility and conservation

This section offers detailed information to comply with specialized requirements 4.4.7 and 4.4.9 of the Regenerative Agriculture Standard to optimize application of fertilizers, improve soil health and reduce reliance on synthetic fertilizers.

8.1 Fertilizer application plans linked to specialized requirement 4.4.7

For fertilizer application, the below specific requirements must be implemented.

8.2 Maintenance of soil cover linked to specialized requirement 4.4.9

Producers are required to follow the below crop-specific guidelines for maintaining soil cover.

9. Integrated Pest Management

This section outlines further information regarding the implementation of specialized requirement 4.5.3 of the Regenerative Agriculture Standard, which addresses herbicide use reduction and enhanced farm biodiversity.

9.1 Integrated Weed Management linked to specialized requirement 4.5.3

As part of the Integrated Weed Management approach the below crop specific requirements must be followed.

10. Agrochemical management

This section lists additional conditions for compliance with specialized requirement 4.6.16 of the Regenerative Agriculture Standard.

10.1 Plan to reduce use of active ingredients linked to specialized requirement 4.6.16

The plan should gradually reduce and phase out the use of active ingredients allowed under exceptions as outlined in section three of this document.

The plan must include:

• A pest-by-pest analysis of agroecological and IPM-based alternatives.

• Defined reduction targets for active ingredients used in quantity and/or toxicity level.

• An evaluation of progress against the targets, considering pesticide use records and the IPM strategy.

For small farms in groups, management is responsible for designing and coordinating a pesticide reduction plan for the entire group.

The plan is updated every year and must be accessible to auditors or the Rainforest Alliance on request. Additionally, the pesticide reduction plan should be consistent with the policy as required in 4.6.14 and aligned with the IPM strategy specified in 4.5.1.

Note: The plan must demonstrate progress over time, failure to do so shall result in a non-conformity with the requirement 4.6.16.

Other information

Date of first publication of this document (v 1.0): July 1^st, 2022.

Documents indicated as “binding” must be complied with for certification. Documents indicated as “non-binding” provide non-mandatory information to help readers understand and implement requirements and other binding content.

Translation Disclaimer

For any question related to the precise meaning of the information in a translation, consult the official English version for clarification. Any errors or differences in meaning due to translation are not binding and have no effect for auditing or certification purposes.

Reproduction, modification, distribution, or republication of this content is strictly forbidden without prior written consent from Rainforest Alliance.

More information?

For help in obtaining a Rainforest Alliance certificate reach out to our Customer Success team at customersuccess@ra.org

For more information about Rainforest Alliance, visit http://www.rainforest-alliance.org contact info@ra.org or the Rainforest Alliance Amsterdam Office, De Ruijterkade 6, 1013AA Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Footnotes

1. International Code of Conduct on Pesticide Management, Guidelines on Highly Hazardous Pesticides, FAO/WHO, 2016. ↑

2. Bromoxynil and its esters (Bromoxynil butyrate, Bromoxynil heptanoate, and Bromoxynil octanoate) are moved from the Risk Mitigation List to the Prohibited List in Version 1.3, December 17, 2021, due to an update in the GHS Classification as Reproductive toxicant 1B. To facilitate implementation of this change, there is a phase-out period of a year, until December 17, 2022. ↑

3. Dimethomorph is added to the Prohibited List in Version 1.2, June 30, 2021, due to an update in

   the GHS Classification. To facilitate implementation of this change, there is a phase-out period of a year, until June 30, 2022. ↑

4. Mancozeb is moved from the Risk Mitigation List to the Prohibited List in Version 1.2, June 30, 2021, due to an update in the GHS Classification. To facilitate implementation of this change, there is a phase-out period of a year, until June 30, 2022. ↑

5. Thiacloprid is moved from the Risk Mitigation List to the Prohibited List in Version 1.2, June 30, 2021, due to an update in the GHS Classification. To facilitate implementation of this change, there is a phase-out period of a year, until June 30, 2022. ↑

6. Article ‘Selection of agrochemicals to reduce human and environmental health risks’ by Paul C. Jepson et al, Lancet Planet Health, Feb 2020. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(19)30266-9  ↑

7. When available, the interpretation of this term and other terms related to roads will be based on the applicable legal definition. The purpose of the requirement is to ensure that persons are not being sprayed. This can be ensured by non-application zones along the roads or by closure of the roads. For roads in the farm area through which external persons pass by occasionally, either method may be chosen.  ↑

8. Areas where people can be present. ↑

9. Written statement including the key data of a planned flight including time, flight path, speed, height, weather conditions and other relevant aspects for a safe flight   ↑

10. Permanent water means the drains normally have water all year round. This may be interrupted by exceptional weather events like El Niño. ↑