About SRP

SRP is a global alliance dedicated to transforming the rice sector by improving smallholder livelihoods, minimizing environmental impacts, and connecting sustainable rice farmers with markets. The SRP Secretariat, based in Bangkok, Thailand, supports over 100 institutional members through training, assurance, and capacity-building initiatives.

Role Highlights

The Capacity Development Manager will:

• Lead SRP’s Authorized Training Program and support training providers in delivering impactful curricula to farmers and stakeholders.
• Coordinate with SRP National Chapters, supporting the development of country-specific guidelines and fostering knowledge exchange.
• Assist in managing SRP’s Assurance Scheme and tools, ensuring robust implementation and capacity building for auditors and partners.

Candidate Profile

We are looking for a candidate with:

• A master’s degree in agriculture, sustainability, or a related field.
• At least five years of experience in training coordination, certification systems, or multi-stakeholder projects.
• Strong communication skills and a passion for sustainable development.

The role is based in Bangkok or can be remote/hybrid by mutual agreement.

How to Apply

Submit your application and CV by 15 February 2025 to Benyapa Lerttrakulchai at benyapa.lerttrakulchai[at]sustainablerice.org. For the full Terms of Reference, click here.

About SRP

SRP is a membership-based organization registered in Bonn, Germany, with a Secretariat in Bangkok, Thailand. Our mission is to:

• Enhance smallholder livelihoods
• Reduce the environmental footprint of rice production
• Ensure a reliable supply of sustainable rice

We achieve these goals by developing science-based cultivation standards, providing capacity building, promoting value chain development, and fostering partnerships.

Role Highlights

The Executive Director oversees SRP’s day-to-day operations, working closely with the SRP Board, Secretariat, and members to implement the organization’s strategic plan. Key responsibilities include:

• Driving resource mobilization and membership growth
• Leading updates to SRP’s standards and assurance scheme
• Building partnerships and engaging stakeholders globally
• Managing the Secretariat team and ensuring operational excellence
• Organizing impactful events, including conferences and workshops

Candidate Profile

We are looking for a leader with:

• Proven expertise in sustainable development and the agri-food sector
• At least 10 years of leadership experience
• Strong skills in fundraising, partnership building, and resource management
• Knowledge of the rice agrifood sector and commodity standards
• Exceptional communication and strategic thinking abilities

The role is preferably based in Bangkok, with flexibility for the right candidate. Extensive travel is required.
For the full Terms of Reference, click here.

What is SRP RiceTrace?

SRP RiceTrace is a digital platform designed to provide transparent, verifiable information about SRP rice production. It allows farmers, buyers, and other stakeholders in the rice value chain to track and validate the sustainability of rice from farm to market in compliance with SRP standards.

Key Features of SRP RiceTrace:

• Supplier Contact: Facilitates efficient connections between suppliers and stakeholders across the rice value chain.
• SRP Transaction Certificates: Enables the request and management of SRP Transaction Certificates to verify compliance with sustainability standards.
• Label and Claim Assessments: Supports the assessment of sustainability labels and claims to ensure their authenticity.
• Inventory Monitoring: Provides a tool to track and manage SRP-verified rice inventory, promoting transparency and effective supply chain management.

Important for SRP RiceTrace Users:

• Register Your Details: Users must register their information and the volumes of SRP-Verified rice they possess.
• Inventory Management: Creating and maintaining an updated inventory is essential to ensure timely and efficient processing, manage future activities, and facilitate requests for issuance of transaction certificates among trading partners.

Conference Recap

The launch was an important moment in the 3rd Global Sustainable Rice Conference & Exhibition, which brought together over 240 experts to discuss the transformation of the global rice sector. The event showcased various initiatives for advancing environmental sustainability, economic resilience, and social equity in the rice industry.

During the event, demo accounts were made available for participants to explore RiceTrace’s features and functionalities. QR codes linking to user guidelines were also distributed, offering easy access to support materials. Additionally, SRP organized side meetings to provide hands-on assistance, ensuring smooth onboarding to the platform.

“We are proud to introduce SRP RiceTrace as part of our ongoing efforts to support our members and the global rice sector,” said SRP Executive Director Dr. Wyn Ellis at the event.

“RiceTrace is designed to enhance transparency and traceability, uphold the integrity of SRP practices, build trust among consumers and supply chain actors, and demonstrate our commitment to facilitating sustainable sourcing,” said SRP Standard and Assurance Manager Trusti Widiastuti.

Next Steps for SRP RiceTrace: We Value Your Feedback

To try RiceTrace firsthand, scan the QR code on the image to access the demo account and explore the platform’s features. We encourage you to share your feedback and reach out if you need detailed guidance. The RiceTrace Users’ Manual will be updated to incorporate user feedback.

User feedback will be essential to help SRP to continuously improve functionality and ease of use. Rice producers, retailers, buyers, and other supply chain actors are encouraged to join the platform and contribute to building a more sustainable and transparent rice supply chain.

For more information about SRP RiceTrace and how to get involved, please reach out to assurance@sustainablerice.org.

About the Sustainable Rice Platform

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.

For more information on the Sustainable Rice Platform contact info@sustainablerice.org or visit www.sustainablerice.org

Contact:
Roong Tepkaew, SRP Communications and Membership Manager
Email: roong.tepkaew@sustainablerice.org

• SRP Standard for Sustainable Rice Cultivation supports sustainable rice practices in Thailand, with the draft Version 3.0 now open for public consultation.
• SRP launches RiceTrace, a digital platform to streamline operations and ensure compliance with sustainable rice standards.
• SRP is developing the Low-Carbon Assurance Module to measure and verify greenhouse gas reductions in sustainable rice cultivation, in partnership with key stakeholders.

Bangkok, 20 December 2024 – “Our challenge as a sector is to scale sustainable rice production as well as stimulate demand, in order to achieve our shared global environmental and social goals,” stated Inge Jacobs, Global Sustainable Sourcing Lead at Mars Food & Nutrition, during the 3^rd Global Sustainable Rice Conference & Exhibition, held recently in Bangkok.

Held on 26-27 November at the United Nations Conference Centre (UNCC) in Bangkok, the event brought together over 240 experts from around the world to discuss how ongoing transformation of the global rice sector can drive environmental sustainability, economic resilience, and social equity. Speakers from UN agencies, governments, private sector, research and civil society shared discussed their experiences and challenges in implementing the Sustainable Rice Platform Standard for Sustainable Rice Cultivation, the world’s first voluntary sustainability standard for rice, designed to incentivize farmers, from smallholders to large producers, to adopt proven climate-smart and sustainable best practices, including innovative opportunities for scaling to achieve sector transformation.

The event highlighted the wide range of initiatives transforming the sustainable rice industry – showcasing technology innovations for farmers, new local funding & investment tools, collaborative solutions to de-carbonize rice across markets – all while empowering farmers to achieve low emission outcomes that can deliver economic benefits.

Hosted by the Sustainable Rice Platform (SRP), the conference discussed all of these transformation drivers – including emerging regulatory requirements, market shifts, corporate sustainability reporting and financial instruments as drivers of sustainable rice sector growth.

Addressing the conference during the Opening Ceremony, Kulsiri Klunnuraksa, Director of the Rice Research and Development Division at the Thai Rice Department, stressed the importance of the rice sector not only as a stable food, but also as the heart of Thailand’s culture, economy, and way of life. “Rice has been an integral part of Thai society for centuries, supporting livelihoods of millions of farm families, sustaining our rural communities, and of course is at the core of Thailand’s cuisine and our agricultural exports,” said Ms Kulsiri.

“The Thailand Rice Department is committed to SRP and we are proud to be leading several large-scale projects aimed at promoting sustainable rice farming across Thailand. Among these projects is one funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), implemented in collaboration with UNEP, GIZ and SRP. Over the next four years the project will train approximately 45,000 rice farmers to adopt the SRP Standard.”

“Fostering collaborative pathways to incentivize wide-scale adoption of low-carbon, sustainable best practices is SRP’s overarching goal,” Dr. Wyn Ellis, SRP Executive Director commented during the event’s opening ceremony.

“Rice stands at the intersection of the twin global challenges of sustainable food systems and climate change action. SRP aims at a holistic approach that links carbon action to the needs of small farmers through an integrated sustainability framework that encompasses smallholder livelihoods, resource efficiency, biodiversity, workers’ rights and women’s empowerment in rice value chains.”

In his keynote address to the conference, Chris Brett, Lead Agribusiness Specialist at the World Bank Group congratulated SRP on its progress in highlighting the need for global action and reported on the increasing emphasis on climate finance for the rice sector within the global development community.

“We continue to work to leverage climate finance and carbon markets to accelerate a transitioning of the rice sector toward low-emission practices,” he said.

“We are making significant progress in the development of financing tools & innovations that further encourage wide-scale adoption of low-emission technologies, while generating economic benefits for smallholders. However, much higher levels of public funding and private investment will be critical to realize these goals.”

In her keynote, Dr. Yvonne Pinto, Director General at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), a founding member of SRP, noted that SRP stands at an important moment in the context of key global drivers: “The global market for sustainable rice is developing due to the interplay of food security needs, climate change challenges, economic incentives for farmers, consumer preferences for sustainability, and ongoing investment in agricultural innovation.” she said.

“We see great opportunities for large-scale mitigation and sequestration through sustainable rice practices, and creation of pathways to gigaton-scale carbon reductions, all while delivering significant economic and social benefits for farmers, the environment and society.”

Speakers discussed how SRP members and partners around the world are championing sustainable rice, showcasing country-level case studies and panel discussions from around the world. The 2-day event also featured the launch of SRP’s new RiceTrace digital traceability platform, designed to streamline operations and ensure compliance with SRP Standards, the release of the draft Version 3.0 of the SRP Standard for Sustainable Rice Cultivation for public consultation and a progress update on the development of the SRP Low Carbon Assurance Module, in partnership with key stakeholders. This module aims to measure and verify greenhouse gas reductions in sustainable rice cultivation. Additionally, two new IFC reports were launched, exploring market and financing opportunities for sustainable rice and benchmarking SRP against global best practices.

Photos and presentations from the event are available here.

The 3rd Global Sustainable Rice Conference & Exhibition was proudly supported by sponsors Olam Agri and String Bio, as well as media partner SSR Rice News.

About the Sustainable Rice Platform

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.

For more information on the Sustainable Rice Platform contact info@sustainablerice.org or visit www.sustainablerice.org

Contact:
Roong Tepkaew, SRP Communications and Membership Manager
Email: roong.tepkaew@sustainablerice.org

Regenerative Agriculture (RA) has become a vital approach to addressing critical challenges in global food systems. This paper explores the alignment of SRP practices with RA outcomes, including enhanced soil health, carbon sequestration, water conservation, and biodiversity preservation. The analysis highlights how the SRP Standard supports these outcomes through its best practices.

As part of the ongoing SRP Standard revision process, we invite you to share your views, ideas and suggestions with us to strengthen the alignment between SRP practices and RA outcomes. The public consultation is open until 15 January 2025.

How to Participate

Review the following documentation:

• Draft SRP Position paper: Contributions of best practices under the SRP Standard towards Regenerative Agriculture outcomes
• Mapping exercise contributions SRP Standard good practices towards Regenerative Agriculture Outcomes

Submit your comments:
Send your feedback via email to info@sustainablerice.org with the subject line “Public Consultation: SRP Position Paper – Regenerative Agriculture”.

For more information, please contact us at info@sustainablerice.org. Your feedback is invaluable in shaping the future of sustainable rice cultivation and promoting regenerative agriculture.

This public consultation seeks to ensure the updated SRP Standard addresses stakeholder needs while balancing subject matter and geographic considerations.

Key Updates in v3.0

Rewarding Innovation
A new bonus score incentivizes farmers adopting innovative climate change mitigation practices to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Strengthening Biodiversity
Enhanced criteria aim to support biodiversity and halt deforestation, with practical measures suitable for producers at all levels.

Advancing Livelihoods
The revised Standard emphasizes gender sensitivity and alignment with the FAO/WHO 2016 guidelines on highly hazardous pesticides.

Recognizing Progress Toward Sustainability
Farmers scoring between 50 and 89 in audits are recognized as “Aspiring farmers” and receive a “Progress Recognition Statement” for Years 1 and 2, with verification required by Year 3.

About the Consultation

Feedback Review: All submissions will be reviewed by the working group led by the SRP Technical Committee.
Further Consultation Rounds: Additional 30-day consultations may be held if issues remain unresolved or if feedback lacks representation from key stakeholder groups.
Transparency: SRP is committed to transparency and will publish the feedback received during this phase.

Resources for Review

To assist your review, the following resources are available (click on the document title to access):

1. Table of Changes from Version 2.2 to Version 3.0
2. Draft SRP Standard for Sustainable Rice Cultivation (Version 3.0)
3. Annex B: Stakeholder Consultation & Risk Assessment for Land Conversion and Biodiversity
4. Annex C: Risk Assessment Checklist for Pesticide Management
5. SRP Standard for Sustainable Rice Cultivation (Version 2.2)

Share Your Feedback

Submit your comments via this online form.
Deadline: 25 January 2025

For any inquiries, contact us at assurance@sustainablerice.org with the subject line: SRP Standard v3.0 Revision. Your contributions will help refine the SRP Standard and strengthen its impact on sustainable rice cultivation worldwide.

Together, let’s build a more sustainable future for rice farming.