Learn about Coffee Rainforest Alliance Certification What is Rainforest Certification What does Rainforest Certification mean

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Rainforest Alliance (RFA) was founded in 1986 as a global non-governmental organization (NGO) in New York City to mobilize market forces to stop deforestation, including farmland expansion, logging, livestock practices, and tourism.

The Rainforest Alliance certifies products and services that meet standards and believes the best way to protect rainforests is to make it clear to businesses and communities that it is beneficial to protect them. The Rainforest Alliance works to protect forests, halt climate change, protect wildlife, reduce poverty, transform business practices to be more sustainable and protect forests.

In total, by 2011, 250,000 farmers worldwide, 2.8 million acres in 33 countries, were Rainforest Alliance certified. In terms of coffee, 2% of coffee on the market was Rainforest Alliance certified. The global coffee industry makes $600 million a year, but less than 10 percent of it goes to coffee farmers. Most coffee farmers receive less than 1% of the value of each cup of coffee sold.

There are 25 million coffee farmers and their families in 50 countries who grow coffee for a living, many of them very poor. The Rainforest Alliance gives coffee farmers financial incentives to protect sustainable land and help coffee farms reduce soil erosion, maintain fertility, clean water, and treat workers properly.

Rainforest Alliance certified coffee farmers gain access to new markets, higher prices, and more credibility. There are currently 1.5 million coffee farmers certified by the Rainforest Alliance. Coffee is grown on about 30 million acres worldwide, and for 150 years until the 1970s, coffee trees were grown under natural rainforests.

Rainforest Alliance certification introduces sustainable farm management systems

(SAN Sustainable Farm-Management helps coffee farmers improve the management of coffee farms, increase market advantage, access favorable markets, control costs, and improve efficiency and crop quality. Rainforest Alliance certified coffee plantations contribute significantly to biodiversity, for example, coffee plantations in El Salvador contain 100 tree species.

Rainforest Alliance's sustainable farm management system SAN also protects rare birds, bobcats, postcard-sized butterflies, colorful frogs, rare orchids, monkeys, and anteaters. Forested coffee fields are recognized as important resting places for migratory birds over long distances. Rainforest Alliance certification ensures that the coffee fields planted preserve wildlife habitat and protect the environment, as well as the livelihoods of coffee farmers.