Certification of organic products
Though the concept of organic agriculture has been growing at a rapid pace among farmers, “there is a major hitch among several small farmers who though practising organic methods, do not know whom to contact for obtaining a organic certificate for their farm,” says Dr. K.K. Krishnamurthy, President, Indian Society for Certification of Organic Products (ISCOP), Coimbatore.
Especially, when the awareness among the consumers is high it becomes imperative that all the products are labelled and certified by an authoritative body that the produce is truly organic.
One reason why small farmers kept away from obtaining a certificate was because the cost of applying for a certificate was quite high.
Foreign agencies
And the certification process was done only by foreign agencies which charged rather exorbitantly. But today in India the cost of certification has come down considerably as a number of certifying bodies which have been accredited by the agriculture products export developmental authority (APEDA), Government of India have come into existence.
For example, the latest in organic certification is the introduction of the concept called ‘Group certification’ where a number of organic farmers can form a group and develop an ‘Internal control system.’ The cost of certification is divided among the farmers, which works out to be cheap and economical. The Government has also implemented a National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP).
The NPOP standards for production and accreditation system have been recognized by the European Commission and Switzerland as equivalent to their standards.
Absence of legislation
At present there is no specific rule or legislation to streamline the organic products. Hence anybody can claim that his produce is “organic.”
The government has to introduce proper legal measures to protect consumers from spurious produce. This is possible only when the products are certified as ‘organic’ by duly accredited Certification Bodies. In Tamil Nadu the ISCOP is accredited by the Government and the tariff are affordable even by small organic farmers.
For more information contact Dr. K.K. Krishnamurthi, President, Indian Society for Certification for Organic Products (ISCOP), Rasi Buildings, No: 162/163, Ponnaiyarajapuram, Coimbatore: 641001, email: profdrkkk@yahoo.com, phone: 0422-6586060 and 2544199 and mobile:94432-43119.
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