Why is organic certification needed?

Principles of Smallholder Group Certification A central body ensures the compliance of all smallholder farmers with organic standards Group has a formal Internal Control System (ICS) One certification for the group (not for single farmers)

Definition ICS IFOAM Definition: An Internal Control System (ICS) is a documented quality assurance system that allows the external certification body to delegate the annual inspection of individual group members to an identified body/unit within the certified operator.

Certification of a Smallholder Group Internal Control System (ICS) Certifier

The Internal Control System Internal Control System (ICS) Binding committment of farmers to adhere to organic standard Internal inspection and field advise for farmers Internal approval and handling of noncompliances Documentation of farmer and farm data Product flow control Farmers in the organic project

Conditions for Smallholder Group Certification Cost of individual certification disproportionally high in relation to sales value. Homogenity of members (location, production system, size of holding). In principle, only small farmers (by local standards); larger farms can belong to group but must always be inspected externally each year. Usually common marketing system

Basic Types of Smallholder Projects Processor Exporter operates ICS Cooperative or Farmers Association operates ICS Contract Production

Some Important Terms Organic: normally means CERTIFIED according to a certain organic standard Conventional: not organic = not certified ICS Operator: Body that organises the ICS, usually this is the farmers cooperative or the contracting processor ICS Manual: sum of all documents regulating the ICS: procedures, forms, policies, etc. Noncompliance: always refers to a certain organic standard, e.g. spraying Ambush is a´n act of noncompliance because it violates an organic standard, but spraying copper is acceptable because it is allowed. Prohibited/unallowed : not permitted according to a certain standard Approval: approval by ICS according to internal organic standard and procedures Certification : certification by (external) organic certifier according to regulations or public organic standards

ICS Manual ICS Manual: sum of all documents regulating the ICS: procedures, forms, internal regulation, contracts, etc. Note: the new IFOAM ICS Guidance Manual is an example for such an ICS manual All relevant parts of the ICS Manual must be made available in appropriate form to the people who are responsible for implementation of the respective procedure or requirement. The ICS Manual shall reflect the reality of the ICS, but must also fulfill all relevant minimum requirements. Therefore it needs to be reviewed regularly and changes need to be communicated to the ICS staff.