The first programme of the Responsible Commodities Facility (RCF) is now underway, with an investment of US$11million by UK supermarkets Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose to fund the new system of financial incentives for farmers in Brazil who commit to deforestation-
The area of cultivation must not have had any deforestation and conversion of native vegetation since 1 Jan 2020. Preference will be given to areas converted from abandoned pasture land to soy cultivation after 2008.
Farm land must be registered with the Cadastro Ambiental Rural (CAR) and be in full compliance with the Legal Reserve and APP requirements of the Code. The farm area must not overlap with public protected areas, indigenous lands and other traditional people and community lands (including ‘quilombolas territories’).
Farmers must have unquestionable right to use the land, be it as land title, land lease agreement, or another legally recognised form of land tenure (e.g., ‘posse’)
Farmers must demonstrate that they and their farms do not contravene any environmental or legal requirements, such as embargoes, environmental irregularities, contraventions of the labour legislation (including slave and child labour), non-compliance with the Soy Moratorium (if applicable), and internationally-accepted rules for the use of agrochemicals.