UTZ upgrades code to enable greater farmer uptake

UTZ Certified, the sustainable farming programme and label, has published a new code of conduct, which it says is stronger in content and simpler in structure.

The company maintains that the simpler language of the new structure - consisting of one core code and commodity specific modules – will allow more farmers to join the program.

The code focuses on management practices and elaborates more on climate change adaptation. There is also greater emphasis on measures for preventing, monitoring and remediating child labour, increasing women’s participation, and reaching more smallholders.

By focusing more on management practices in the farm, the new code is expected to lead farmers to take informed decisions while increasing farm profitability over the long term. Farmers will also be guided in adaptation measures to prepare them for unpredictable weather events in tropical areas due to climate change.

The code is further designed to increase farmers’ social and economic resilience. For example, it promotes diversification strategies such as intercropping and home gardens in which highly nutritional plants are established. Other highlights include the treatment of coffee waste water and its post-quality analysis, as well as the explicit promotion of ecological diversity and the protection of ecosystems.

“We seek an approach of continuous improvement in which farm productivity is strengthened by an efficient use of inputs, while also addressing social and environmental challenges more in depth,” said Britta Wyss Bisang, standards director at UTZ Certified. “We want this code of conduct to become an every-day and easy-to-use tool for farmers. A tool that will help them improve agricultural techniques, impact positively on farmers’ lives and enhance environmental protection.” 

The UTZ code of conduct is reviewed every five years by all stakeholders – producers, academics, industry members and NGOs - in order to further enhance the benefits of the UTZ programmw. The review process for this new code began in August 2012 and involved two public online consultations and ten workshops in origin countries.