The Sustainable Rice Platform (SRP) launched the first global Standard for Sustainable Rice Cultivation.
The SRP Standard uses environmental and socio-economic benchmarks with the aim of reducing rice cultivation's environmental footprint, maintaining yields for rice smallholders and meeting food safety and quality goals.
27 October 2015: The Sustainable Rice Platform (SRP) launched the first global Standard for Sustainable Rice Cultivation. The SRP Standard uses environmental and socio-economic benchmarks with the aim of reducing rice cultivation’s environmental footprint, maintaining yields for rice smallholders and meeting food safety and quality goals.
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) convene the SRP, which is a global alliance of 29 institutional stakeholders, including agricultural research institutions, civil society organizations and agri-food businesses. SRP aims to promote sustainability and resource efficiency throughout the rice value chain. Its members Aidenvironment, IRRI and UTZ Certified led the standard’s development. SRP launched the standard at its Fifth Annual Plenary and General Assembly, which took place from 27-29 October 2015 in Manila, the Philippines.
Rice cultivation impacts both greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and freshwater use, according to UNEP, and also plays a critical role in providing livelihoods and food security for millions of smallholders around the world.
The standard has 46 requirements that address issues such as biodiversity, productivity, labor rights, worker health and food safety. There are also quantitative performance indicators that allow market supply chain actors to evaluate the sustainability of a rice supply system and to monitor progress. The standard draws from global experience on other sustainable commodity initiatives, such as coffee, cotton, palm oil and sugar cane.
“The SRP Standard represents the world’s first initiative that will set environmentally sustainable and socially responsible rice production management standards,” said Robert Zeigler, Director General, IRRI. He elaborated that the “key challenge now is to incentivize and scale up adoption, especially among resource-poor small farmers.”
The SRP Standard and indicators will be field-tested in a multi-location farm trial coordinated by IRRI and SRP. [UNEP Press Release] [SRP Website]