Organic Farming: Certification

Certified Organic Farmer

You know that the food undergoes various interlinked activities from the production site to the consumer. At every step, there are set standards to be complied to authenticate the genuinity of the product. Organic farmer is a farmer who cultivates and maintains his farm on the principles and practices of organic farming. Such a farm is inspected for its on-farm practices and transactions to acquire him a certificate of authenticity of being an organic production site. A certified organic farmer follows different sets of ethics compared to his counterpart in the conventional system.

• Let Us Examine Some Of The Organic Farming Ethics A Farmer Should Follow:

1. 1. Organic farmer should produce food that is safe and of high nutritional quality in sufficient quantity.
   2. All farming operations in his farm should interact in a constructive and life-enhancing way with all natural systems and cycles.
   3. Farmer should encourage and enhance biological cycles within the farming system, involving micro organisms, soil flora, and fauna, plants, and animals.
   4. All farming operations should be carried out with an objective of maintaining and increasing the long-term soil fertility.
   5. Whenever a new technology is used/adopted, it should be as far as possible, from renewable resources of a locally organized agricultural system.
   6. The farming activities should be as far as possible within a closed system with regard to the soil nutrient issues.
   7. Farmer should minimize all forms of pollution that may result from agricultural practices.
   8. Agricultural operations within the farm should create a harmonious balance between crop production and animal husbandry.
   9. Farmer should let their livestock to live in their basic condition of life and their innate behavior.
   10. Farmer should process organic products using renewable resources.
   11. The farm should use only biodegradable organic products.
   12. The farming operations should progress towards an entire production, processing, and distribution chain which is both socially just, and ecologically responsible.
   13. The farmer should promote crop diversity and indigenous animal species within the farming.
   14. The farmer should not use Genetically Modified [GM] crops varieties or animal breeds for food production on the farm.

 

Certification

We have seen that certification by an authentic agency, normally called a third party, will ensure the conformity of organic products to the National Standards [NSOP]. The producer [First-Party], as well as a consumer [Second Party], wants to be sure that the product is really “Organic” and the premium price is paid on this trust of the certification agency.

There Are Three Types Of Third-Party Certification:

• Direct Certification

Here an internationally active certifying agency that has authorization in the EU, USA or any foreign country inspects the farm and certifies in a third country. The advantage of this certification is that the producer can directly find markets in these countries and export its products. Disadvantage of this system is that the certification cost will be higher and may not be suitable for small farms and low-income farmers.

• Co-Certification

A certifying agency of the internationally active certifying agency in a third country inspects and certifies a farm/processor in a third country. An internationally active control body with authorization in the EU/USA confirms its certification. The authenticity of the Co-certification agency is greatly dependent on the changing rules. However, the cost for certification will be lesser compared to direct certification agencies and sometimes high compared to local certification agencies.

• National Certification

A local control body in a country inspects and certifies a farm in that country based on its organic norm. The products can be sold in the local market and other countries that accept the national norms as well as the accreditation of the agency. Since these certifying agencies are local, the inspection fee also will be lower compared to direct or Co-certification agencies.

The standards for accrediting of inspection and certification agencies are mentioned in Section-4 of NPOP under three heads: A, B and C. Similarly, Section-5 deals with guidelines for certification of grower groups any such agency.

Inspection and Certification Agencies should follow the National Standards for Organic Production under the National Program for Organic Production notified under the Foreign Trade [ Development and Regulation Act ], 1992 [FTDR].

 

Group Certification

Today, the organic market is regulated by various organic standards and regulations in most countries worldwide. We had seen earlier that all production steps of a product that is marketed as “organic” need to be certified.

In India a majority of farmers are smallholders and are often located in remote areas with long travel times from one place to another. The overall revenue from their agricultural production is usually too small to allow a viable farm inspection by an external inspection agency. Quality assurance systems of smallholder groups have been developed by IFOAM under group certification norms.

In India, majority of farmers are resource-poor and they cultivate small plots of land. The formal system of organic certification is difficult and expensive. Although the individual land holding may be small, the farmers are often organized into formal groups or co-operatives for marketing of their produce. Such groups range from just a few to several thousand farmers who co-operate in production and marketing of produce. To overcome the difficulties of external certification of large numbers of small farms, group certification based on an Internal Control System [ ICS ], and Participatory Organic Certification has come into operation. As this procedure is more relevant to Indian conditions, we should look into these aspects.

• Internal Control System [ ICS ]

An Internal Control System [ICS] is a documented quality assurance system that allows an approved external certification agency to delegate the annual inspection of individual group members to an identified body/unit within the certified operator. This is for the purpose of reducing individual small farmer’s inspection costs to a reasonable level. This can take the form of a 100 percent regime of inspection and record keeping by growers’ groups, with random sampling by the certification body and re-inspection of a certain number.

As a consequence requirements regarding smallholder group certification and the duties of the Internal Control System [ICS] differed considerably between different organic certifiers.

Smallholder Groups’ Certification Implies That There Is

• • A central body is responsible for ensuring the group’s compliance with applicable standards. This can be a self-organized cooperative/farmers association or simply a buyer or processor who contracts farmers [“contract production”].

• • Group Certification for all small farms as well as processing and handling activities registered within the group. Individual operators within the group may not use the certification independently.

• • Group members operate under contractual or binding membership requirements specifying the commitment to comply with applicable organic standards besides permitting inspection, etc.

• • The ICS maintains files on all members of the group and inspects each member’s operation at least once a year. A list of all individual member producers is made available. The group through the ICS mechanism decides on members’ compliance with applicable standards. Non-compliances are dealt with according to set procedures and sanctions.

• Participatory Organic Certification

The notion of participatory or alternative, certification has emerged in recent years in response to the problems associated with mainstream organic certification. Popularly known as Participatory Guarantee System [PGS], it is basically a combination of community based inspections, transparency, and trust between producer and consumer to maintain the integrity of the organic label. Even though this system may be problematic for export oriented production, it is a useful way to promote and support local market networks of organic production and consumption. Today, PGS has become a popular alternative production, it is a useful way to promote and support local market networks of organic production and consumption. Today, PGS has become a popular alternative in southern Kerala, where the barriers to mainstream certification are particularly pronounced due to fragmented agricultural holdings.

Participatory certification processes rely on the same norms and standards used by organizations such as the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements [FOAM] and NSOP. What makes them different is that they employ simple verification procedures, minimal bureaucracy and costs, and in most cases also incorporate an element of environmental and social education for both producers and consumers. Another significance of PGS is that it does not impose any direct cost on producers. Also, it does not envision exportation as the goal of organic production, but rather emphasizes the importance of local production and consumption networks.

Beyond addressing some of the barriers that prevent small scale producers from achieving organic certification, participatory certification also speaks to a broader critique of the mainstream organic sector. Namely, many have criticized the organic sector for abandoning its philosophical roots, which focused on a small scale, community based consumption, a direct relationship between producer and consumer, and a holistic vision of sustainable food systems. Within this ideological framework there was little or no need for external certification bodies because the consumer would personally visit the farm, or at least have a relationship with the farmer, and this personal relationship established trust in the integrity of the product.

However, the majority of organic goods are consumed far from their location of production, thus breaking the relationship of trust between producer and consumer, and creating the need for independent certification agencies. Within this new, globalized organic market, the concept of participatory certification may not be viable as the system of organic certification and quality control is already in place. As such, the development of participatory certification processes necessarily implies a return to the roots of the organic movement, with a renewed focus on local markets as opposed to export orientation. It also helps to ensure that healthy organic products will be available at more accessible prices, thus making organic consumption available to lower income segments of the population, who have traditionally been unable to afford the price premiums associated with mainstream organics. Finally, participatory certification creates great opportunities to build meaningful bonds between producers and consumers based on the shared goals of promoting a holistic organic philosophy.

PGS is considered as a procedure for developing the group certification; therefore, it is not regulated under NPOP.