SRP Board Election: One Seat, Two Outstanding Candidates, Your Vote Shapes What Comes Next

The SRP Board sets the direction for our entire movement — and this year, one seat, two exceptional leaders, and every member’s vote will decide who helps steward that future. This is your moment to have a direct say in the leadership that guides SRP’s mission across 30+ countries and 130+ member organizations. We’re excited to introduce the candidates and invite you to take part.

Key Dates

Nomination Period: 20 August – 21 September 2026 (closed)
Voting Period: 5 – 14 October 2026
Results Announced: 16 October 2026
New Term Begins: 18 October 2026 (3-year term)

Voting Process

Voting will once again be conducted through our independent third-party voting system, ensuring a fair, transparent and confidential process. A unique voting code will be issued to each member ahead of the voting period.

Can’t Vote Yourself? We’ve Got You Covered

We know that not every member representative will be available during the voting window — travel, scheduling conflicts and other commitments happen. To make sure every member’s voice is still heard, we’ve prepared a proxy voting option (click here to download):

Speak with the member you’d like to designate to cast your vote on your behalf, and confirm they’re willing.
Complete the proxy voting form.
Submit it to SRP before 29 September 2026 (about one week from now), so we can set up the voting system in time.

Every vote counts toward shaping where SRP goes next — don’t miss your chance to weigh in.

Below, you’ll find the biography and statement of motivation for each candidate:

Hetal Shah

Amiha Group, India

Mathias Azeredo de Almeida

Natcap, Brazil

Biography of Hetal Shah

My journey began in 1997, at the age of 23, when I started working as a receptionist with a leading international NGO. Until then, my world was largely limited to 50–60 kilometres around me. That first opportunity opened the door to a much larger world and changed the direction of my life.
From a receptionist, I gradually grew into a Director at Amiha Group of Companies, overcoming professional challenges, marriage, family responsibilities and social expectations along the way. It has been a long, challenging and deeply rewarding journey.
Today, I lead a team of 250+ professionals working with 1,20,000+ smallholder farmers across India to build sustainable, traceable and market-linked food and fibre supply chains. My work focuses on regenerative agriculture, climate resilience, gender mainstreaming, innovation and sustainable livelihoods.
What gives me the greatest sense of purpose is knowing that my journey can create opportunities for others—especially women and farming communities. I believe leadership is not only about reaching a position; it is about creating pathways for others to grow, earn with dignity and build a better future.
I continue to learn, lead and work towards building inclusive, regenerative and climate-resilient agricultural systems that benefit both people and the planet.

Statement of Motivation

I am pleased to put myself forward for the SRP Board, building on my previous experience as an SRP Board Member and more than 25 years of work across sustainable agriculture, farmer livelihoods, gender inclusion and global supply chains.
My motivation is to help take SRP from a credible standard to a globally trusted movement—creating measurable value for farmers, strengthening market confidence and building consumer trust.
As a woman leader working directly with farming communities, I would bring a strong and practical gender-mainstreaming lens to SRP—ensuring women are not only included in programmes, but recognised as decision-makers, producers, entrepreneurs and leaders across the rice value chain.
My vision is simple and ambitious: every farmer should see value in SRP, every market should recognise its credibility, and every consumer should understand what SRP means for people, planet and food security.
I bring a strong Global South perspective, cross-commodity and cross-geography experience, deep engagement with smallholders, international brands and sustainability systems, and a commitment to turning standards into real-world impact.
I want SRP to be recognised from farm to every plate—where every serving of rice represents responsible production, empowered farmers, healthier ecosystems and a more resilient future.
I am committed to serving the full three-year term and contributing with purpose, collaboration and global ambition.

Biography of Mathias Azeredo de Almeida

Mathias Azeredo de Almeida is CEO of Natcap, a Brazilian sustainability advisory firm focused on climate, traceability, land use and sustainable agriculture, and President of AGAFLOR, the association representing planted-forest producers in Rio Grande do Sul.
He has more than 20 years of experience across agribusiness, international markets and sustainability. He spent 11 years at Marfrig, including seven years in sustainability leadership, working at the intersection of agricultural supply chains, market access, environmental performance and stakeholder engagement.
Through Natcap, Mathias has led and supported projects across beef, rice, soy and forestry, connecting producers, companies, NGOs, research organisations and technology providers. His rice-sector experience includes SRP-related second-party assessments with global buyers and rice suppliers in southern Brazil, low-carbon rice initiatives based on improved water management, MRV and greenhouse-gas accounting, as well as the development of climate-finance and Scope 3 insetting approaches for rice value chains.
His work increasingly focuses on making sustainability standards practical and investable by aligning credible assurance and traceability with farmer incentives, market demand, digital MRV and climate finance. He also brings governance experience through industry associations and multi-stakeholder initiatives. Based in Brazil, Mathias offers a Global South perspective grounded in field implementation, producer realities and international market requirements, with a strong interest in helping SRP expand its impact in Latin America and scale credible low-emission rice solutions globally.

Statement of Motivation

I am seeking election to the SRP Board because I believe SRP is entering an important phase: the challenge is no longer only to define what sustainable rice should look like, but to make credible sustainability adoption commercially viable, scalable and attractive to farmers and value-chain partners.
My experience in Brazil has reinforced a simple lesson: standards and assurance systems scale when they create a clear value proposition. Farmers cannot be expected to carry additional audit, data and implementation costs without market demand, incentives, access to finance or credible off-take opportunities. I believe SRP can play a decisive role in connecting its strong normative framework with practical business models that reward adoption.
If elected, I would bring three complementary perspectives to the Board. First, a Global South and Latin American implementation perspective, helping SRP expand in markets where rice systems, producer structures and existing local protocols differ significantly from Asia. Second, practical experience with carbon finance, Scope 3 insetting, MRV, traceability and low-emission agriculture, which I believe can support the evolution and scaling of initiatives such as L-CAM. Third, a business and governance mindset focused on partnerships, financial sustainability, member value and stronger links between producers, buyers, research institutions, technology providers and finance.
I would also advocate for pragmatic pathways that recognise and build on credible local systems where possible, reducing duplication and making SRP adoption easier without compromising integrity.
I see the Board role as one of stewardship. If elected, I would serve SRP in an individual capacity, working for the long-term strength of the organisation and the broader rice sector.
My objective would be to help SRP remain technically credible while becoming even more relevant to farmers, companies and investors — and to help translate sustainability ambition into adoption at scale.

Make Your Voice Heard

Both candidates bring exceptional experience, vision and commitment to advancing SRP’s mission — and the choice is now in your hands. We encourage every member to take a few minutes during the voting period to review their statements once more and cast a vote that reflects where you want SRP to go next.

If you have any questions about the voting process, your voting code, or the proxy voting option, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the Secretariat at info@srpglobal.org.

Thank you for being part of this important moment in SRP’s journey — your participation is what keeps our platform member-driven, credible and strong.

We look forward to your vote.

SRP Board Election: One Seat, Two Outstanding Candidates, Your Vote Shapes What Comes Next

Biography of Hetal Shah

Statement of Motivation

Biography of Mathias Azeredo de Almeida

Statement of Motivation

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