Principles of Smallholder Group Certification A central body ensures the compliance of all smallholder Farmers with organic standards Group has a formal InternalControl 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

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

Risk Management Risks that may jeopardize the organic quality must be known and taken into account in all internal procedures Initial risk assessment has to be done All necessary measures must be taken to minimize the risk

The Internal Inspector. Potential conflicts of interest The internal inspector is a key position in the ICS. The roles requires technical and social skills. A conflict of interest is a situation where the inspector/approval manager`s ability to make an impartial judgement could be perceived to be compromised Potential conflicts of interest need to be declared and to be prevented.

Training is very Important, for Farmers and Inspectors