Rice farmers are among the world's most vulnerable to climate change impacts such as rising sea levels, salinity, temperature rise, drought and flooding.
Rice is the daily staple for more than 3.5 billion people, accounting for 19% of dietary energy globally.-IRRI
SRP Assurance Scheme
The SRP Assurance Scheme and on-pack eco-label enables consumers to choose sustainable rice. By stocking SRP-verified rice, food retailers can make significant and measurable contributions to sustainability commitments and climate change targets. Industry actors will also be able to de-risk their supply chains and ensure stability by sourcing through SRP-verified suppliers.
The scheme is managed by GLOBALG.A.P., which oversees approval of qualified Verification Bodies responsible for third party auditing of producers and producer groups according to the SRP Standard.
Employing best practices in rice farming can reduce water use by some 20% and methane emissions from flooded rice fields by up to 50%. Farmers also benefit - switching to SRP practices can boost farmers’ net incomes by 10-20%. With 90% of the world’s 144 million rice producers living on or near the poverty line, this can make the difference between a secure livelihood and a family going hungry.
SRP Assurance Scheme Version 1.3
SRP Brand Manual (August 2020)
We are also pleased to announce approval of three normative documents relating to implementation of the SRP Assurance Scheme launched in September. These are as follows:
2. Chain of Custody (CoC) Policy and Standard v 1.0
3. SRP Assurance Scheme v1.3 Information Note No 1: Audit Guidelines
All three of these documents have been approved by the SRP Board on 9 December 2020, following a period of extensive stakeholder consultation, including a 30-day open public consultation for IMS and CoC documents, and come into effect immediately. We’re most grateful to all members of the SRP Chain of Custody Task Force, our members and external dialogue partners, particularly Oxfam, for your many suggestions and valuable guidance.
For transparency, we documented all changes resulting from the open public consultation - available upon request from the Secretariat. Summaries of the substantive changes to the IMS and Chain of Custody Standard documents are available here.
Summary of Changes SRP CoC Policy and Standard v1.0
Summary of Changes SRP IMS Standard v1.0
Finally, we are working on additional guidance to support implementation of the IMS Standard; this will be available in the coming weeks.
SRP General Assembly 2020
The Annual General Assembly, a statutory event, was held on 16 December 2020 at 07:30 to 11:00 (UTC+1) via Microsoft Teams. Over 100 member representatives have registered for the event, and we are delighted that so many of our members have participated.
Thanks to all those who have cast your votes for candidates to fill the Board seat that falls vacant on 16 December. The result was announced during the assembly. Tanja Havemann, Founder and CEO, Clarmondial AG, was elected with 64% of eligible votes.
10th SRP Annual Plenary Meeting
Due to Covid-19, the 10th SRP Annual Plenary event- normally held in conjunction with the Annual General Assembly – will this time be held as a separate virtual event during March 2021. This will take the form of a “SRP Rice Week”- a series of sessions held over a 5-day period, offering greater flexibility for participation across our membership and the broader stakeholder community. A further announcement will be made in the coming days, providing details of opportunities for speakers, sponsors and exhibitors.
If you wish to contribute in any of these areas, please contact: namitha.bhat@gpj.com
Let's talk about Sustainable Rice
Your voice matters - commit to #ChooseSustainableRice and share your rice story with us on Instagram (@srp_rice)!
Our online awareness campaign aims to broaden public awareness of the positive economic, environmental and social benefits of sustainable rice through the use of augmented reality (AR) on Instagram camera filters.
Through the campaign, we hope to connect with youth and online communities to promote a shift to sustainable rice production and consumption to combat hunger and climate change.