Organic India: shape of things

Small farmers are working with traditional farming methods. Photo © Karin Heinze

A strong regulatory framework and multiple policy initiatives lay the foundation for the rapid development of the organic foods sector in India in the coming years. With the surge in demand for organic foods, and the subsequent influx of new products into the market, organic certification has become crucial to ensure quality and prevent fraud and mislabelling. Certification develops confidence amongst consumers about the product’s genuineness as Organic. It also certifies that the product does not contain any non-organic ingredients and that it complies with the organic production standards laid out by regulatory authorities. PGS (Participatory Guarantee System) plays an important role in India. 

Current scenario of the organic certification in India

At present, there are two types of extant certifying mechanisms. The Participatory Guarantee System (PGS)certification is for organic produce within the country. PGS is meant for the domestic market and allows the farming community to self-certify their organic produce. The Third Party Certification mechanism, on the other hand, is only for export purposes. It is conducted by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) under the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP).

PGS is a guarantee system for small farmers on a local basis. Photo © Karin Heinze

Third party certification

The standards for organic production are notified in NPOP, which was launched in March 2000 by the Ministry of Commerce. The NPOP is designed to establish national standards for organic products, which are sold under the ‘India Organic’ logo. There are 28 accredited certification bodies and it is mandatory that all certification bodies operating in the country must be accredited by APEDA.

But in India, 70% of farmers are small scale and poor, and can ill afford third party organic certification. Byzantine documentation and cost of the certification process makes farmers wary of the same. PGS is an alternative means of certification, which does not cost anything for the farmer to get certified. Further, it involves limited documentation and can easily be adopted and replicated.

Participatory Guarantee System (PGS)

Outside the framework of the high-cost and complicated third party certification, the National Centre of Organic Farming (NCOF) has developed online free-of-cost PGS organic certification, which requires minimum documentation, to enable poor and marginal farmers access organic markets. The initiative is aimed at the development of the domestic organic market for the benefit of small and economically weak farmers.

The terminology and conceptual framework for describing PGS was developed from the first ‘International Workshop on Alternative Certification’, which was organised in Brazil in 2004 by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) and the Movimiento Agroecológico Latinoamericano (MAELA). The workshop discussed and identified the dynamics of different alternative organic certification systems from across the globe.

IFOAM defines PGS as locally focused quality assurance systems that certify producers based on active participation of stakeholders that are built on a foundation of trust, social networks and knowledge exchange. This is a collaborative approach, which involves farmers and other stakeholders in confirming the veracity of organic produce.

What is PGS India? 

Participatory Guarantee System-India (PGS-India) is a decentralised organic farming certification system for quality assurance in the local market implemented by groups of local farmers. The Department of Agriculture Cooperation and Farmers’ Welfare, through NCOF, is implementing PGS in India. The system certifies organic products maintaining the requisite quality standards, including ensuring that the cultivation and production processes are in compliance with the standards laid down. The products are certified as organic in the form of a documented logo or a statement.

With the objective of expansion of area under organic farming and to develop the domestic market, the Honourable Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Shri Radha Mohan Singh, launched the PGS web portal for online PGS certification on 15/07/2015. With this launch, India became the first country in the world to have developed a web portal for online free-of-cost PGS certification.

PGS webportal (screenshot)

The PGS-India organic certification is better than third party certification in the following ways:

• It carries a low cost of certification.

• It requires minimum documentation.

• It helps in domestic market development to benefit small farmers.

• It’s 100% traceable by consumers up to the production level.

Currently, more than 3,00,000 farmers, forming 6,662 local groups are certified under PGS certification, covering 172,541.71 ha of area. There are 732 regional councils (govt and non govt) authorised by the PGS-National Advisory Committee (PGS-NAC) to coordinate, monitor and approve the certification decisions of these local farmer groups under PGS-India.

Produce from farms that are being converted to organic carries the PGS-India ‘Green’ logo during the transition period, and after two years of abstaining from chemicals, the farm becomes eligible for the PGS-India ‘Organic’ symbol. Approximately 72 countries are issuing PGS certification currently. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) has already been signed between India and Nepal, as well as, between India and Mauritius for organic farming training and trade covering PGS organic products. MoUs with other countries such as Taiwan are also afoot—these alliances open up prospects for export of PGS certified organic products.

Farmers benefit from the PGS certification. Photo © Karin Heinze

Shaping the future of organic in India

Keen to promote the organic sector in the country, the Indian government has undertaken several initiatives to develop the domestic Organic Market:

Market Linkage through the PGS Web Portal

The PGS web portal provides market linkage by providing consumers and traders access to all information related to PGS organic farmers, farm area and details of crops grown, etc. The consumer can verify details about PGS organic products online through a consumer verification number and can also link with PGS organic farmers for direct procurement through details available on the portal.

The domestic organic market in India is estimated to be highly potential to the tune of Rs 600 crore (USD 93.56 mn). The development of the domestic organic market through PGS certification and market linkage will provide ample opportunity to Indian organic farmers.

Complimentary PGS Certification & Financial Aid

Government of India has given policy support to PGS local farmers by launching the Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) scheme, under which, organic farming is being promoted in cluster mode (1 cluster = 50 ha). The organic cluster is being provided complimentary PGS certification, as well as, financial assistance.

The financial aid goes towards cluster formation,  training, PGS certification, as well as, adoption of ‘Organic Villages’ under which, on-farm nutrient management is facilitated for farmers by setting up biological nitrogen harvest plants, traditional organic inputs production units, botanical extract production units (including procurement of organic seeds, liquid biofertilisers, neem and oil cakes, and phosphate-rich organic manure), organic nurseries, and vermicompost units. The funds are also utilised in packaging, branding, labelling and marketing. The PKVY scheme is targeting 10,000 clusters to bring 2,00,000 ha area under PGS organic certification across the country in the next two years.

PGS Organic Stalls

Government of India has also undertaken the initiative to open a PGS Organic stall in the corridors of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, New Delhi, as well as, in many other locations like Rohtak, Gajraula and Noida, to provide a platform and market linkage to PGS organic farmers, so they can earn revenue through direct sale to consumers.

The new Jaivik Bharat Organic logo

During the 19^th Organic World Congress in November of 2017, the Agriculture minister formally launched the Food Safety and Standards (Organic Foods) Regulations 2017, along with the ‘Jaivik Bharat’ logo and the Indian Organic Integrity Database Portal (). The unified regulation on organic foods is in keeping with the spirit of the ‘One Nation, One Food Law’ of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). The Jaivik Bharat (meaning ‘Organic India’ in Hindi) logo for organic food is an identity mark to distinguish organic products from non organic ones and will signal to consumers the authenticity of organic products.

Watch the video from Biofach India Organic 2017 together wirh the 19th Organic World Congress in Delhi, where the Jaivik Bhahrat was launched. (from min 1:08)

Indian organic integrity database portal

The portal on organic foods from India is a regulatory platform; it is an Indian organic integrity database jointly developed by the FSSAI, APEDA and PGS-India, under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare, and contains detailed information on organic food standards, certification processes, and information relating to FBOs (food business operators), their products and geographical areas in which they are available. Organic food products are searchable on the online directory by name of the food or by name of the company as well. Any consumer wishing to verify the authenticity of a given company or organic product simply needs to search on this integrity database.

Rural life in India. Photo © Karin Heinze

Food Safety and Standards (Organic Foods) regualtions 2017 

The FSSAI had framed the draft for authentic organic products as Food Safety and Standards (Organic Foods) Regulations 2017, and the same were notified on June 19, 2017, to invite comments of stakeholders. The comments received from various stakeholders have been considered and incorporated as appropriate in the final regulations, which have been approved by the FSSAI in its 24^th meeting held on September 21, 2017, and also by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Diagram © Pure&Eco: Number of Regional Councils (state-wise) in India authorised by the PGS-National Advisory Committee.

The FSSAI, on November 9, 2017, operationalised the Food Safety and Standards (Organic Foods) Regulations, 2017. The key features of the Regulations are as follows:

All food offered or promoted for sale as ‘Organic Food’ must comply with any of the requirements of:

a) NPOP

b) PGS-India

• Traceability shall be established up to the producer level as applicable under the systems mentioned above.

• Direct sale of organic food by small original producers or producer organisations to end consumers is exempt from verification of compliance.

• All organic food shall comply with the labeling requirements as per the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labeling) Regulations 2011, along with NPOP or PGS India requirements.

• Organic food label is to have a certification mark of PGS-India or NPOP, along with the FSSAI logo and licence number.

• Organic foods are to comply with product standards and limits of contaminants as prescribed in the Food Safety and Standards Regulations.

• Retailers must display organic foods as distinguishable from conventional foods.

• Provision for bilateral or multilateral equivalence agreements based on NPOP for imports.

The article was first published in Pure & Eco India an Indian print magazine focusing on South Asia’s organic sector, and www.pureecoindia.in is its digital representation.