Frequently Asked Questions

The Sustainable Rice Platform e.V. (SRP) is a global multi‐stakeholder alliance comprising over 100 institutional members from the public, private, research, civil society and the financial sector. SRP works with its members and partners towards transforming the global rice sector by improving smallholder livelihoods, reducing the social, environmental and climate footprint of rice production, and by offering the global rice market an assured supply of sustainably produced rice.
SRP promotes resource-use efficiency and climate change resilience in rice systems (both on-farm and throughout value chains) and pursues voluntary market transformation initiatives by developing sustainable production standards, indicators, incentive mechanisms, and outreach mechanisms to boost wide-scale adoption of climate-smart, sustainable best practices among small farmers.

SRP was originally co-convened in 2011 by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), together with research and private sector partners. It was established with the goal of promoting best practices in rice farming that are environmentally friendly and socially responsible, while boosting yields for both commercial and subsistence farmers.

In 2020, SRP registered as the Sustainable Rice Platform Association (SRP e.V.) in Bonn, Germany and is now an independent membership association.

SRP’s primary purpose is to catalyze public-private action to accelerate rice sustainability through efforts to help farmers prosper, empower rice-growing communities, respect human rights, and conserve the environment.

The foundation for the SRP governance system is its members. The authority of members is exercised through the General Assembly, which functions as SRP’s highest decision-making body and meets annually to perform statutory functions and provide policy guidance. Reporting to the General Assembly, the SRP Board advises on the strategy and action plans to ensure that SRP achieves its objectives. The SRP Secretariat is responsible for the overall management and coordination of SRP’s programs, partnerships, communications and resource mobilization initiatives to advance strategies and plans. The Technical and Monitoring & Evaluation Committees allow members to help shape our goals, tools and activities. Learn more about our governance system and team here.

Learn more about how you can take action and get involved to help transform the rice sector through SRP here.

The SRP Membership Program is open to any organization from the public, private and civil society sectors, which supports the vision, mission and goals of SRP. Organizations may participate in SRP as a Member by committing formally to contribute financially and/or in-kind, depending on the category. Membership rests with the institution. Individuals are not eligible to join as member. Download the SRP Membership Program Manual here.

SRP currently comprises over 100 institutional members. Members are categorized into four broad constituencies: supply chain actors; service, input & equipment providers; public sector; and civil society organizations. A list of members can be found here.

Please review the SRP Membership Program Manual, which provides information on membership categories, commitments, value proposition, privileges, dues and policies. Then, please complete and submit the SRP Membership Application Form included in the Manual, along with the requested documents, to our SRP Communications and Membership Manager (roong.tepkaew@sustainablerice.org). Download the SRP Membership Program Manual here.

Your organization will have opportunities to access a network and collaborate with various actors in rice value chains; leverage insights that would otherwise be costly to conduct independently; access SRP tools and shared expertise; help shape SRP’s strategies, programs, and policy advocacy; and increase visibility and recognition for organizational commitment to sustainability. Find more information here.

SRP offers the global rice sector a set of tools to support large-scale adoption of sustainable best practices among rice smallholders. Tools include the SRP Standard (a set of requirements to define and score a farmer’s growing practices as sustainable), Performance Indicators (a set of metrics to measure impacts of applying the Standard), and Assurance Scheme (rules to verify compliance with the Standard to ensure credible public claims). See our tools here.

The SRP Standard and Performance Indicators currently provide the only recognized working definition for sustainable rice production and a means of monitoring impact linked with this definition. The Standard carefully weighs and balances on-farm practices across eight themes. The Performance Indicators consider environmental, economic, and social impact areas that are expected to be impacted as a result of applying the Standard in practice.

Currently, most SRP tools and training materials are offered only in English language.
The SRP Standard for Sustainable Rice Cultivation is also available in Thai.

Parties interested in translating the SRP tools and/or training materials into a language other than English should review the Guidelines for Translating SRP Tools and Publications for eligibility criteria and procedures for development of convenience translations and official translations.

Please send an email to our SRP Standard and Assurance Team (assurance@sustainablerice.org). Please be as specific as possible in your request, so that we can effectively assist you.

The SRP Standard is the world’s first voluntary sustainability standard for rice. It is a set of good agricultural practices to work toward climate-smart sustainable rice farming at farm-level, and of criteria or requirements to score production as sustainably cultivated. The SRP Standard offers a normative framework that can serve as a basis for supporting claims to sustainability performance in rice supply chains. Download the SRP Standard here.

The SRP Standard can be applied by individual farmers, smallholder farmer groups, as well as larger farms, and focuses on ensuring relevance, practicality and impact, especially for smallholder farmers in developing countries. The SRP Standard applies to all farm-level processes in rice production, including postharvest processes under the farmer’s control.

The SRP Standard comprises 41 requirements structured under eight themes: farm management, pre-planting, water use, nutrient management, pest management, harvest and post-harvest, health and safety, and labor rights.

By adopting practices in the SRP Standard, smallholder farmers can produce at lower cost, increase net incomes, protect their health, and reduce the environmental footprint of rice cultivation.

The SRP Performance Indicators allow for measurement and assessment of the sustainability impacts of adoption of recommended practices at farm level. The Performance Indicators enable collection of benchmark data and communication of field-level outcomes in a consistent way using a set of common indicators. Download the SRP Performance Indicators here.

The intended data collector is the implementing partner of a Registered SRP Project. An implementing partner may be a research institute, company, extension worker, project owner, group manager or miller. Data collection can be organized in different ways. If relying on farmer records, it is important to ensure that farmers have the capacity, willingness and information to measure and record accurately and regularly. Implementing partners should visit farmers regularly to discuss and corroborate their activities over the previous recording period.

The SRP Performance Indicators comprise 12 indicators: profitability (net income), labor productivity, productivity (yield), water productivity and quality, nutrient use efficiency (nitrogen and phosphorus), biodiversity, greenhouse gas emissions, food safety, worker health and safety, child labor and youth engagement, and women’s empowerment.

The SRP Performance Indicators offer a versatile tool to deepen our understanding of the effectiveness of individual interventions and the tradeoffs between them.

The SRP Assurance Scheme and ‘SRP-Verified’ on-pack Label are based on the SRP Standard for Sustainable Rice Cultivation and provide a system for supply chain actors to procure SRP-Verified rice and make sustainability claims for rice produced using proven, climate-smart sustainable best practices. Launched in September 2020, the system helps boost incomes for smallholder farmers and enhances their market access.

Independent third-party audits provide supply chain actors with a robust and credible framework to de-risk their supply chains, while the on-pack SRP-Verified Label empowers consumers to choose products that directly support efforts to boost farmer livelihoods while reducing the social and environmental impact of rice farming.

Version 2.0 of the SRP Assurance Scheme provides a framework for third-party assessment of compliance with the SRP Standard for Sustainable Rice Cultivation and the SRP Chain of Custody Standard and applies to all related assurance activities.

The Scheme can also serve as a performance and improvement tool for those who are not proceeding immediately to third-party verification.

Version 2.0 introduces important changes to our verification process, resulting in large measure from user feedback. These changes are designed to enhance the efficiency, transparency, and cost-effectiveness of the scheme, and further strengthen our alignment with global best practices under the ISEAL Assurance Code. From 1 January 2024 the Assurance Scheme will be overseen and managed directly by the SRP Secretariat rather than via an external Assurance Service Provider.  The Secretariat will directly engage with Conformity Assessment Bodies (CAB) to implement the Scheme and has established the SRP Assurance Platform to manage audits and monitor data directly.

A Conformity Assessment Body (CAB) is an entity authorized by SRP to issue a third-party verification statement confirming specified compliance requirements have been fulfilled by the supply chain actor. This terminology replaces the term ‘Verification Body’ in Version 1,3 of the Assurance Scheme.

You can find a list of Conformity Assessment Bodies here.

An entity seeking to participate in the SRP Assurance Scheme as a third-party Conformity Assessment Body (CAB) should complete the SRP CAB Application Form and provide any required supplementary documentation.

The terminology pertaining to assurance levels has been revised to ensure clarity, and differentiate assurance (based on independent third-party audits) from internal or second-party assessment:

• Internal assessment: assessment of compliance with the SRP Standard for Sustainable Rice Cultivation performed by peers, members of an IMS Team or an appointed external party (other than an approved CAB) on behalf of the producer.
• Second-party assessment: assessment activity performed by an entity or a person linked to the producer or producer group being assessed.
• Third-party assessment: assessment activity performed by an approved CAB that is independent of the producer or producer group being assessed.

The Assurance Scheme 2.0 focuses primarily on third-party assessment as a basis for claiming SRP Standard compliance. Internal assessment remains part of the process for the third-party assessment, which will allow sustainability claims and on-pack label use. It is important to note that without engagement of CABs, internal assessments alone is insufficient to allow SRP claims or use of the SRP-Verified on-pack label. The rules, requirements and permitted claims under second-party assessment are covered by additional rules currently under development.

From 1 January 2024, all third-party assessments will be registered on the SRP Assurance Platform managed directly by the SRP Secretariat. Producers or producer group and participating operators verified through third-party assessments are eligible to make SRP claims and use the SRP-Verified on-pack label in accordance with the SRP Assurance Scheme 2.0 and provisions stipulated in the SRP Brand Manual & Claim Guidelines.

The fee structure covers assurance for both the SRP Standard for Sustainable Rice Cultivation (Farm Standard) and the SRP Chain of Custody Standard (value chain assurance). For details, please refer to the SRP Assurance Scheme Fee Structure, available at the SRP website – or download here.

To streamline and simplify the system for our users, and based on user feedback, SRP will integrate oversight and management of the Assurance Program directly under the SRP Secretariat. This includes data management via the new SRP Assurance Platform database system. This has been made possible by boosting Secretariat technical capacity and learning from our experiences since launch.

The Platform is a portal and web-based database for data entry, storage and analysis, based on the ChainPoint framework. The SRP Assurance Platform will be hosted and managed directly by the SRP Secretariat and will support overall oversight of CABs and registered participants in the SRP Assurance Scheme.

All aspects of the Assurance Scheme will be managed directly by the SRP Secretariat, with the SRP Standard & Assurance Manager serving as the primary contact.

SRP training modules are currently being updated to align with Version 2.0 and will be shared with Authorized Training Providers.

The SRP Secretariat will organize and host two pilot refresher sessions followed by exams before 31 March 2024.  This offers flexibility in scheduling for trainers who can participate according to their respective schedule. These sessions will be available free of charge to Authorized Trainers and In-house Trainers only.

Following the Pilot Sessions, Authorized Training Service Providers are encouraged to arrange their own independent training sessions to offer training on Version 2.0, to be completed by 30 June 2024.

Authorized Trainers, In-house Trainers and auditors are all expected to calibrate and pass the refresher exam by 30 June 2024 (within six months of launch of Version 2.0), either through the SRP Pilot Session (Authorized Trainers and In-house Trainers) or by participating in training courses offered by any of SRP’s Authorized Training Service Providers. Successful Trainers and Auditors will receive a new certificate of recognition.

Internal Management System (IMS) refers to a documented set of procedures and processes to be implemented by a producer group to ensure and demonstrate that it can achieve specified requirements. The SRP IMS Standard sets out the requirements used by internal and external auditors to assess compliance of the producer group with the IMS, and against which the producer group can evaluate itself. Download the SRP IMS Standard here.

The SRP IMS Standard guides producer groups to ensure effective and transparent organization and management of the group, as a foundation for strong internal assessment, which is the foundation of verification required under the SRP Assurance Scheme.

The SRP IMS Standard comprises 14 requirements: establishment, impartiality, producer list, producer agreements, gender equality, risk assessment, internal inspection, approval and sanction system, self-evaluation, group management plan, chain of custody, complaint management, service providers, and claims and use of SRP-Verified Label.

Conformity Assessment Bodies are responsible for inspecting and verifying compliance with the current version of the SRP Standard and for issuing statements that fulfilment of specified conformance requirements has been demonstrated.

The SRP IMS Standard helps a farmer group to achieve effective and transparent organization and management. The group must implement the SRP Standard and IMS Standard as a minimum, before they can be verified by a Conformity Assessment Body (CAB) under the SRP Assurance Scheme.

The SRP Chain of Custody (CoC) Policy and Standard describes the requirements and processes to ensure traceability of SRP-Verified rice by implementing a CoC system under one of three models: Identity Preservation (IP), Segregation System (Seg) or Mass Balance (MB). Supply chain organizations other than producers who at any point own or handle SRP rice must be audited and certified against the SRP CoC Standard in order to be allowed to use SRP Claims and the SRP-Verified Label. Download the SRP CoC Policy and Standard here.

The SRP CoC Standard applies to any Participating Operator (PO) purchasing, handling and/or trading SRP-Verified rice. PO refers to any company, association, factory, processing unit or other entity that applies for SRP CoC certification.

CoC inspections are conducted by Certification Bodies (CBs) approved for the SRP CoC Standard.

SRP permits all its members to use the SRP Organizational Logo in off-pack communications. It is recommended that organizational logo use is accompanied by a corporate value statement, such as “[Company Name] is an active member of the Sustainable Rice Platform – a global alliance working to promote eco-friendly rice farming, empower small farmers and reduce the environmental footprint of rice. Learn more at www.sustainablerice.org”. Usage guidance is provided in the SRP Brand Manual and Claim Guidelines here.

A claim of sustainable rice cultivation can only be made if a minimum score of 90% is achieved in an audit against the SRP Standard for Sustainable Rice Cultivation, together with a minimum score of 75% against the SRP Internal Management System (IMS) Standard for Producer Groups. Further, in achieving these scores, the essential compliance levels (mandatory thresholds) for each requirement in the SRP Standard and IMS Standard must also be met.

In such cases, SRP permits claims in on-pack and/or off-pack communications. Permitted claim statements differ according to the assurance level selected (Levels 1-3) in the SRP Assurance Scheme.

• Those completing Level 1 assessment are not permitted to make any claims.
• Those completing Level 2 assessment may make claims on-pack and/or off-pack.
• Those completing Level 3 assessment may make claims on-pack and/or off-pack, which differ according to the Chain of Custody model used.

Conditions and prohibitions are provided in the SRP Brand Manual and Claim Guidelines here.

SRP permits use of the SRP-Verified Label only in on-pack communications (e.g., retail rice packs and bulk rice sacks or boxes) for products that comply with Level 3 assessment in the SRP Assurance Scheme under product segregation or identity preservation. It is recommended that SRP-Verified Label use is accompanied by an appropriate claim statement. Conditions and prohibitions are provided in the SRP Brand Manual and Claim Guidelines here.

Yes, the SRP Secretariat and Technical Committee are responsible for pre-approving label designs and can offer support to ensure compliance.

The SRP-Verified Label represents the integrity of claims on sustainable best practices according to the SRP Standard for Sustainable Rice Cultivation, as verified through the SRP Assurance Scheme at the most robust level of verification. By choosing to buy SRP-Verified rice, you can contribute to the following impacts:

• saving water
• reducing greenhouse gas emissions
• increasing farmer income
• improving the livelihoods of smallholder farmers
• enhancing social equity

SRP Training Courses are designed to build a cadre of persons qualified to conduct farmer outreach, training, and verification activities in support of SRP objectives. SRP endorses selected institutions (Authorized Training Providers) to deliver its approved training courses and to administer course exams that lead to successful trainees’ receipt of a certification from SRP (SRP Authorized Trainer). These individual help to further scale capacity building on-the-ground.

SRP members and Registered SRP Projects commit to use only Authorized Training Providers and/or SRP Authorized Trainers for SRP-related training activities to ensure high quality implementation, consistency, and credibility of SRP related claims.

Approved SRP training courses aim to build a cadre of persons qualified to conduct farmer outreach, training, and verification activities in support of SRP objectives. View courses and training calendar here.

There are currently four (4) training courses developed and recognized by SRP:

• Understanding the SRP Standard and Performance Indicators
• Understanding the SRP Assurance Scheme
• Understanding the SRP Internal Management System Standard and Guidelines
• Understanding the SRP Chain of Custody Policy and Standard

Only Authorized Training Providers are institutions that are endorsed by SRP to deliver the approved training courses on SRP and to administer course exams that lead to successful trainees’ receipt of a certificate of recognition from SRP. There are currently three (3) Authorized Training Providers endorsed by SRP:

• International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) Education
• Preferred by Nature
• Peterson Services Vietnam Co.,Ltd.

Institutions interested in becoming an Authorized Training Provider should review the SRP Authorized Training Manual for eligibility criteria and procedures for SRP endorsement. If your organization meets the eligibility criteria and would like to discuss next steps, please send an email to us
(info@sustainablerice.org).

Individuals who meet certain requirements receive from SRP a Certificate of Recognition as an “SRP Authorized Trainer” (with unique registration number). SRP Authorized Trainers are empowered to help scale capacity building on the SRP Standard and Performance Indicators:

• Be engaged/hired by SRP Authorized Training Providers, Registered SRP Projects, SRP Members, or other stakeholders to support capacity building on the SRP Standard and PIs
• Conduct training needs assessments to identify farmer training, information, and support needs related to SRP and adoption of sustainable best practice
• Tailor content of the Understanding the SRP Standard and Performance Indicators course, only to: (1) translate core training modules into local languages; (2) replace and/or add examples, photos, and cases used in training modules to align with local context and conditions; and/or (3) adjust content of training modules to match relevant National Interpretations Guidelines for the SRP Standard
• Deliver Understanding the SRP Standard and Performance Indicators course to target audiences on-the-ground (e.g., local trainers and implementers, farmers)

Please click here to access the list of SRP Authorized Trainers.

Attend and complete the Understanding the SRP Standard and Performance Indicators course and pass the course exam by earning 80% or higher. Receive from SRP a Certificate of Recognition as an “SRP Authorized Trainer” (with unique registration number). View the training calendar here.

Maintain your recognition as an “SRP Authorized Trainer” by attending informational sessions in case of minor updates to SRP instruments (online); complete re-training in case of new version of SRP instruments (online or in person), or re-testing every five (5) years if no new version of instruments released (online).

Yes, SRP members and Registered SRP Projects commit to use only SRP Authorized Training Providers (institutions) and/or SRP Authorized Trainers (individuals) for SRP-related training activities to ensure high quality implementation, consistency, and credibility of SRP related claims.

In the SRP Standard, Requirement No. 3 focuses on training. If a farmer or farmer group has received training from an SRP Authorized Training Provider, SRP Authorized Trainer, or person directly trained/supervised by an SRP Authorized Trainer, the farmer or farmer group is eligible to meet the highest level of compliance (score) in this requirement.

Please send an email to grievances@sustainablerice.org. If lodging a complaint or grievance, please include:

(a) contact information of the individual or organization filing the complaint/grievance;
(b) information about the individual or organization against whom the complaint/grievance is submitted;
(c) summary of issues and events that led to the complaint/grievance
(d) overview of steps taken to resolve the issue prior to lodging this complaint/grievance and any response received; and
(e) evidence/documents to support the complaint/grievance.

All information will be handled confidentially by the SRP Secretariat. Further actions will be agreed and coordinated together with you.