phasing out cattle certification because it is not in the scope of the 2020 Certification Program.) In recent years, the Rainforest Alliance has greatly expanded its work with smallholders, which includes more than 2 million farmers certified by the organization. To obtain certification, farms must meet the Sustainable Agriculture Standard, which is designed to conserve ecosystems, protect biodiversity and waterways, conserve forests, reduce agrochemical use, improve livelihoods, and safeguard the rights and well-being of workers and local communities. The Rainforest Alliance encourages businesses and consumers to support sustainable agriculture by sourcing or choosing products grown on certified farms. More than 5 million hectares of farmland are being managed sustainably under Rainforest Alliance certification, as of 2019. Crop standards and criteria The Rainforest Alliance 2017 Sustainable Agriculture Standard was based on a gradual improvement system where more requirements had to be met each year. For a farm to get certified initially, it was required to achieve 100 percent of the critical criteria and 50 percent of the continuous improvement criteria within each group of criteria. The Farm Requirements of the new 2020 Sustainable Agriculture Standard include core requirements and improvement requirements. Core requirements outline key sustainable agriculture practices that must be met to achieve certification and are measured according to a pass/fail model. They include an ecosystem conservation program; protection of wild animals and waterways; the use of protective gear for workers; guidelines about agrochemical use; the prohibition of transgenic crops and implementation of an “assess-and-address” system to monitor and mitigate risks of child labor, forced labor, discrimination and workplace violence and harassment. Improvement requirements are designed to further promote and measure progress toward sustainable practices. They are categorized as either mandatory or self-selected. Some improvement requirements are pass/fail, while others are measured with Smart Meters. Smart Meters give farmers a way to set goals for their farms based on what is most beneficial and feasible within their specific context. Rather than having predefined targets set by the Rainforest Alliance, farmers will set their own targets for improvements and define the necessary actions needed to achieve them. For example, while all farms must appoint a person or committee to address gender equality and carry out a basic risk assessment, they can each set their own annual targets to tackle more specific gender gaps related to their context. Rainforest Alliance Certified Seal The Rainforest Alliance Certified seal appears only on products that