17 September, 2019

Progress towards the new RTRS Standard for Responsible Corn Production

The working group responsible for reviewing specific crop-related requirements and their application in the RTRS Standard for Responsible Corn Production held two face-to-face meetings in August and September. With the participation of 33 organizations, meetings were held on August 14 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and September 12 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. All three RTRS constituencies, Producers; Industry, Trade and Finance and Civil Society, as well as representatives from the government and the academic sector, experts and certification bodies ensured equitable representativeness of the corn sector in both meetings.

As has been decided in these meetings, RTRS will draft a RTRS Standard for Responsible Corn Production which will bring together conclusions and recommendations on sustainable production discussed by the Working Group, taking into consideration the main social, environmental and management aspects of production at the farm level.

The President of Maizar, the Argentine Corn and Sorghum Association (Asociación de Maíz y Sorgo Argentino) Alberto Morelli, present in the meeting held in Buenos Aires, pointed out the importance of these meetings as a forum for discussion and view sharing and stated: “The collaboration of all stakeholders participating in the corn value chain is critical to enable an agile and simple certification that accurately reflects the implemented processes”.

Regarding corn production certification, Morelli added: “The importance of certification lies in the certainty of product origin and of the processes involved in its production. Farmers who are able to demonstrate a sustainable rotation of their crops will have access to the benefits of certification”.

The RTRS Standard for Responsible Corn Production Draft will be submitted to two public consultations for 60 and 30 days, which will be published in RTRS website as part of the participative and collaborative process implied in the development of a new RTRS Standard. Anybody interested in making comments about this document, whether or not part of the value chain, shall be entitled to participate in the public consultation.

For more information about the new RTRS Standard for Responsible Corn Production, please send an email to [email protected]

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