Start your journey with the ABR Program
Watch the president of Abrapa explain how joining the Responsible Brazilian Cotton program works and the path to integrating sustainable and certified production.
The state associations affiliated to Abrapa are responsible for providing guidance and procedures for farmers to join the ABR Program. Their technical staff provides training and provides all the necessary support for the formalisation of the process.
The technical staff of the state cotton growers' associations applies the ABR Program checklist preview. If there are areas that need adjustment, farmers receive a corrective action plan from the associations, and the farm will be assessed according to the goals established in the document.
The farms undergo an audit by an independent team which validates the checklist items, verifying that the information provided is correct and that the responsible practices adopted by the protocol are being followed.
If the auditors' final report is positive, the farm receives ABR certification and, by fulfilling additional requirements, qualifies for Better Cotton (BCI) licensing. This stage occurs when the auditors' visits are completed.
There is a minimum compliance level for ABR of 85%, starting in the first crop season to be audited, in order to achieve certification. Each year, the farm is required to increase the compliance percentage rate which reinforces the commitment to continuous improvement prioritized by the protocol. Farms that fail to demonstrate this progress will no longer be eligible for the Responsible Brazilian Cotton Program.
The prohibition of all forms of child labour and forced labour, undignified or degrading work on farm properties, as well as freedom of association and the prohibition of discrimination against people, are items defined as Minimum Production Criteria and are mandatory for achieving certification.
Interested in the ABR Program?
Since 2013, the Responsible Brazilian Cotton (ABR) program has been working in conjunction with Better Cotton (BCI), the organization responsible for managing the world’s largest cotton sustainability program. The goal is to promote cotton farming practices that are increasingly more responsible and more committed to sustainability.
Abrapa’s cooperation with Better Cotton has ensured that Brazilian cotton growers certified by ABR are able to obtain Better Cotton licensing, the largest international protocol for certifying good practices in the cotton production chain.
To obtain Better Cotton approval, there are 17 additional criteria to be verified, such as the commitment to pesticide reduction, compliance with the international organization’s chain of custody requirements, and the provision of BCI indicator reports.
See the list of farms that have ABR certification and Better Cotton licensing in the states covered.
