RAINFOREST ALLIANCE
POLICY:
Applicability to intermediaries in Cocoa,
Latin America

Document SA-P-LA-38
Version 1
EnglishBinding from October 1st, 2024
Published on July 11th, 2024

© 2024 Rainforest Alliance. All rights reserved.

The Rainforest Alliance is creating a more sustainable world by using social and market forces toprotect nature and improve the lives of farmers and forest communities.
Name of the document
Document code:

Date of firstpublication:Version:

Expiration
date:

Rainforest Alliance Policy On Applicability to Intermediaries in Cocoa,
Latin America

July 11th, 2024

Until further
noticeLinked to:
SA-S-SD-1 Rainforest Alliance 2020 Sustainable Agriculture Standard, Farm Requirements
Country / Region:
Latin American countries
Crop:

Type of certification:

Cocoa

Farm and supply chain certification

Applicable toIntermediaries
Policies are binding. Policies complement and/or supersede related rules or requirements for the parties they areapplicable to.
More information
For more information about the Rainforest Alliance, visit www.rainforest-alliance.org, contact info@ra.org or
contact the Rainforest Alliance Amsterdam Office, De Ruijterkade 6, 1013AA Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Translation Disclaimer
For any question related to the precise meaning of the information contained in the translation, please refer to theofficial English version for clarification. Any discrepancies or differences in meaning due to translation are notbinding and have no effect for auditing or certification purposes.

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1.

INTRODUCTION

In some Latin American countries, cocoa is marketed through intermediaries from the farm levelto the supply chain. According to the glossary for the 2020 Sustainable Agriculture Standard,intermediaries are defined as:“Any actor that trades (buys and sells) and/or handles Rainforest Alliance certified productfor a Farm or supply chain Certificate Holder. Common examples of intermediaries inRainforest Alliance certified supply chains are small traders such as "pisteurs" in Cote d'Ivoireor "manavs" in Turkey, who source from producers to supply a farm Certificate Holder. As
they handle low volumes, Rainforest Alliance does not require intermediaries to be
independently certified or registered in the Rainforest Alliance platforms. However, theyshall comply with applicable requirements from the Rainforest Alliance Standard, and thecertificate holder management shall take responsibility for their compliance.”
Under the context of the program, intermediaries must be included within the scope of the farmand/or supply chain Certificate Holder. Likewise, they must comply with all applicablerequirements in their scope, depending on the activities they perform such as traceability among
others, defined in the Certification Rules and the Sustainable Agriculture Standard.
As established in the certification rules, all entities (farms, sites, intermediaries, subcontractors, etc.),
included in the scope of the certification audit, shall be considered for the selection of the annualaudit sample by the Certification Body in accordance with the chapter "Audit Rules".
This policy aims to align the requirements of the Rainforest Alliance standard applicable tointermediaries in the context of cocoa production in Latin American countries. The requirements
mentioned in this policy are intended to assist cocoa producers in the implementation of theRainforest Alliance program.

2.

TYPES OF INTERMEDIARIES INCLUDED IN SCOPE

Requirement 1.2.2 applies only to intermediaries who perform activities within the scope of thefarm and/or supply chain CH and who may or may not perform physical handling of the productas a function of their activities.
Examples of intermediaries included• Legal or natural person independentof the organization that purchases
product from certified producers anddelivers it to the certified organization
covered by the scope of the CH.

Examples that ARE NOT intermediaries:• Collection centers managed by thesame management system.
•Collection centers that are managed
by a certified producer of the samegroup.

•Processing site where "transformation"of the certified product takes place.

•Warehouses(collectioncenters)
managed by the same group.

One of the important differences to highlight that exist within the certified product flow structures
are the "collection centers", which, unlike intermediaries, have the following characteristics:a) The collection centers can be owned by the producer (this implies their managementand administration) or of community disposition managed by a leader at the serviceof the CHs, intermediaries are third parties contracted outside the organization which
can be natural or legal persons.
b) Collection centers do not have contractual responsibility, unlike intermediaries, whomust comply with a legal agreement.
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3. DOCUMENTED MONITORING MECHANISM
Requirement 1.2.2 establishes that the certificate holder has a supervisory mechanism in place toverify that intermediaries comply with the requirements of the standard applicable to them.
The oversight mechanism must include at least the following elements:
1. Contractual agreement between the CH and the intermediary, which must include at least
the following:✓The intermediary shall be duly registered and/or incorporated as a natural or legalperson.

✓Commitment to comply with the requirements applicable to the standard, mentioningand linking compliance by the intermediaries.

✓For those CHs which, within their organizational structure, have established that thepayment of the SD/SI will be made directly by the intermediaries to the producers, thecompliance with requirement 3.2.1 shall be included in the agreement. In order tocomply with this requirement, the CHs shall have:➢All product purchase and sale documents➢

Supporting documents of the intermediary's legal compliance with applicablerequirements.

➢

Supporting documents of the transfer of the amount of the SD/SI to the certified
producers by the intermediaries.

➢

Supporting document of receipt of the SD payment by the producers.

2. Inclusion of identified risks related to the intermediary's operations in the farm and/or supply
chain, Risk Assessment (Annex S03 requirement1.3.1).
3. Inclusion of relevant risk mitigation measures in the management plan.
4. Identify with geolocation point the intermediaries that will be evaluated to the CHs throughrequirement 1.2.10.
5. For the requirements applicable to the standard where there is mention and linkage ofcompliance by the intermediaries, the Certification Body shall provide information in thechecklist on the findings and/or evidence of compliance or non-compliance with therequirement.
6. Verification by the Certification Body of the specific compliance with requirement 2.1.10
related to the calibration of the equipment used to define the weight of the product.
7. According to the Certification and Audit Rules, intermediaries must be evaluated at least
once in the certification cycle.
8. The Rainforest Alliance reserves the right to make changes to this policy at any time asconsidered necessary.

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