The implementation of a certification system in the agricultural sector of Costa Rica
Résumé
We analyze the evolution of the Rainforest Alliance Certification system (RAC) and its implementation in the agro-exporting sector of Costa Rica. Certification systems like RAC incorporate a certain number of social and environmental criteria, with implications on the organization of the primary production side. We approach these implications and analyze how the environmental services concept (ES) was integrated into the certification criteria. We use a combination of secondary information, interviews with key informants related to the certification system, and interviews at farm level to certified producers in three sectors: coffee, banana, and pineapple. The incorporation of the ES concept into the RAC remains unclear and happened well after the consolidation of the RAC. The certification is perceived as a successful institution for protecting the environment, and less as a social improvement device. Certified producers do not receive any premium price for their products, but having the RAC is clue for keeping access to the markets, achieving a good enterprise image and accomplishing the social and environmental national legislation.
