Summary
Socio-environmental certification is a voluntary market-based instrument, which aims to promote changes in productive sectors through economic incentives. Thus, it should be part of the policies and mechanisms that promote or encourage the maintenance and the adoption of agroforestry production systems in a systematic way in Brazil. This study aims to evaluate the role, opportunities and challenges of socio-environmental certification for agroforestry systems, through three case studies: Reca project; Fazendas Reunidas Vale do Juliana; and the socio participatory certification of nikkei producers in Pará, Brazil. It was observed that there are various socio-environmental certification systems applicable to agroforestry systems and with projects already implemented in Brazil, covering socio-participatory schemes and third-party ones. Each one offers benefits and limitations to their application. The upscaling of agroforestry certification requires that they are more applicable to this situation and more accessible to family farmers and communities. Also, they need the support of public policies and effective and longterm partnerships between producers and companies of the commodity chains that use products
of agroforestry origin.