In order to earn the right to use the Association of Family Farms (AFF) seal to market products, farms, ranches, and fishing enterprises (1) must:
- Meet the AFF membership requirements for a family farm, ranch, or enterprise;
- Undergo a third-party inspection and achieve a passing score on the Food Alliance certification processes;
- Develop a memorandum of understanding, signed by all strategic partners, regarding the basic elements of value chain business relationships.
1.1. For purposes of AFF membership and with allowances for regional application, a family farm, ranch, or enterprise is defined by the following set of criteria, adopted by the AFF Organizing Committee at the Houston meeting, 2005, and revised by the AFF Board at the Chicago meeting, 2007:
1.1.1. We are personally invested in our farms/ranches: Producers’ personal capital is invested in the farming/ranching enterprises;
1.1.2. We are the managers and operators of our farming/ranching enterprise: Major management and operational decisions are made and significant amounts of on-site labor are provided by members of the farm or ranch family; (2)
1.1.3. Our farms/ranches are our livelihood: In a typical year, AFF-affiliated farms and ranches generate net cash income that improves the family’s standard of living.
1.1.4. We are economically and socially invested in the communities in which our farms/ranches are located: Every producer-owner of the Association of Family Farms makes a commitment to be an active participant in his or her community. (3)
1.2. Food Alliance certification (4) requires that farmers/ranchers:
1.2.1. Provide safe and fair working conditions;
1.2.2. Ensure healthy and humane care for livestock;
1.2.3. Use no hormones or sub-therapeutic antibiotics;
1.2.4. Use no genetically modified crops or livestock;
1.2.5. Reduce pesticide use and toxicity;
1.2.6. Conserve soil and water resources;
1.2.7. Protect wildlife habitat; and
1.2.8. Plan for continuous improvement.
1.3. Additional certification requires a signed memorandum of understanding with strategic partners that can be monitored and that demonstrates:
1.3.1. Common agreement that values-based food value chains are supply chains that:
1.3.1.1 Are strategic alliances that deal in significant volumes of high-quality, differentiated food products and seek to distribute rewards equitably across the supply chain;
1.3.1.2. Treat farmers and ranchers as strategic partners, not as interchangeable input suppliers; and
1.3.1.3. Recognize that creating maximum value for the product depends on significant interdependence, collaboration, and mutual support among strategic partners.
1.3.2. Specific agreements that farmers and ranchers:
1.3.2.2. Have a reasonable calculation of production and transaction costs and are able to negotiate their prices on that basis;
1.3.2.3. Experience contracts and agreements as fair and for appropriate time frames;
1.3.2.4. Are able to own and/or control their own brand identity as far up the supply chain as they choose. This may involve co-branding with other strategic partners; and
1.3.2.5. Participate fully in the development of mechanisms to resolve conflicts, communicate concerns about performance, or alter directions within the value chain.
2.1. The “family farm/ranch/fishery” criteria for AFF membership will be employed by regional committees to be organized in 2007.
2.2. Food Alliance (5) standards will be employed through that organization’s normal certification processes.
2.3. The certification/monitoring mechanisms for the value chain MOUs will be developed as follows:
2.3.1. The International Certification Services will develop mechanisms to incorporate value chain MOUs in the eCert data base;
2.3.2. The value chain MOUs will be monitored at the farmer/rancher point of the food supply chain, through the following:
2.3.2.1. Concerns voiced by farmer/rancher/fishery partners regarding value chain functioning;
2.3.2.2. Periodic interviews of farmer/rancher/fishery partners by certifier (done in conjunction with the Food Alliance certification process).
2.3.3. AFF will develop response/decision capacity to deal with value chain transgressions.
2.3.4. Feedback mechanisms will be developed with the research group associated with the national agriculture-of-the-middle (AOTM) initiative (6) to evaluate and learn from these certification approaches. Standards and certification mechanisms will be adapted as warranted by lessons from the proof-of-concept value chains. Such lessons and adaptations will inform the ongoing development of the AFF standards and the certification of emerging value chains.
