Who needs to be certified?

Any independent individual who wishes to grow crops organically.

Conversion

Transition to Organic production-Annuals require a period of 24 months before sowing, perennials require 36 months.

Planting Material

Organic seeds and planting material are allowed.

If organic source unavailable, chemically untreated seeds, planting materials can be used after permission from CB.

Nutrient Management

Manure from organic animal husbandry.

Soil management shall be by use of green manures, on-farm inputs, intercrop, crop rotation.

Those organic or mineral fertilizers that are brought in shall be as per Standard requirements.

All GMOs, synthetic nitrogenous fertilisers are prohibited.

Sewage sludge, growth regulators are prohibited

Physical Control

Physical barriers, buffer zones, roadside buffers, and sign boards on organic farm-Prevent commingling and/or contamination.

Pest, Disease Management

Use of preventive cultural techniques which limit the development of pests, fostering of insect predators are encouraged

Products used for pest, disease and weed management, prepared at the farm from local plants, animals and microorganisms are allowed.

The use of synthetic herbicides, fungicides, growth regulators, synthetic dyes insecticides and other pesticides are prohibited. Permitted products for plant pest and disease control shall be as per standard requirements.

Book Keeping

Written plan of farm management-Annually.

Diary of farm with daily activities.

Group Certification

Requests a high level of commitment and knowledge by the organisation or certificate holder.

Is possible for crop production, animal husbandry, or beekeeping.

Normative Framework

The group certification system is based on an internal quality system and shall apply to groups, cooperatives, contract producers and small scale processing.

Producers must have a similar production system and should be in geographical proximity (min No. 25 and max no. 500).

Farms with land holding of 4 ha and above can be part of the group but will be inspected annually.

Internal Control

A group must have a legal status and a well structured and documented Internal control system.

Groups shall be inspected twice annually by trained inspection staff who shall not have any conflict of interest that hinders work.

There shall be documented records signed by producers and inspectors.

Internal Quality System

The IQS pertaining to a group should have SOPs, Internal standards in local language, sufficient staff to operate the ICS an internal approval body which evaluates, supervises, approved and imposes sanctions if necessary.

Trainings

ICS personnel shall be adequately trained and records pertaining to training shall be made available.

Farmers shall be regularly trained by ICS personnel, there shall be one initial advisory visit and training details shall be documented.

External Control

The sampling plan for inspection is based on the inspector’s perception of risk based on the following factors:

Size of holding, Number of the members in the group, Degree of similarity between the production system and crop system, inter mingling/contamination, local hazards. Risk factor calculation are as per respective standandards.

Records

The group must present a detailed Organic Management Plan.

Farmers must keep a minimum of records.

Records on purchased, stored, processed, and sold quantities must be kept at each step, from the producer to export or final sale.

Certification

The group can only be certified in case the ICS works properly.

In case certification relates to crop production in a group, all rules applicable to crop production shall apply.

New producers can be included in the organic farmers list only after approval by the certifier.

Who Need to be certified

All handlers who process, dry, freeze, clean, mix, pack, or label organic products after harvest, need to be certified

Requirements

Must assure traceability and transparency.

Requires a good documentation system.

Must not contaminate organic products through inappropriate post-harvest handling.

Origin

Only certified organic raw materials can be processed to organic products.

Raw materials procured shall have a copy of a valid scope certificate, issued according to the respective standard.

Seperation

Handlers processing both organic and conventional produce or organic produce certified as per different standards must be separated in time and space

In situations where separate warehousing is not feasible, adequate separation with clear demarcation and sign boards.

In case of continuous processes (e.g., mill), a reasonable purged quantity of product must be sold as conventional.

Identification

The operator must develop an organic production and handling plan depicting process flow and control points.

Records pertaining to Organic condition of the product must be made available-Eg., supplier certificates, way bills, reception notes, processing protocols, storage books, invoices.

If processing does not take place at regular intervals , operator must inform ADITI in advance regarding the processing.

Pest Control

Organic products shall not come in contact with any polluting substances, such as fuels, pesticides, wood preservatives, detergents, molds etc.

Pests should be avoided with good manufacturing practices, pest management practices shall be in place.

Irradiation is prohibited.

Labelling and Packing

Organic status of the product shall be clearly reflected as per the standard. Inconversion products shall be clearly distinguishable.

Labelling, packing, promotional material shall be sent to ADITI for approval prior to printing.

Biodegradable, recyclable, reusable systems and eco-friendly packaging materials shall be used wherever possible

Strong Transfort

Organic product must be protected from Co-mingling with non-organic products and from contact with materials and substances not permitted for use in organic farming and handling.

Storage areas and transport containers for organic product should be cleaned using methods and materials permitted in organic production

Who Need to be certified

Any handler who wishes to collect medicinal or aromatic plants and plant materials from their natural habitats.

Wild Collection

Sustainable-Harvesting or gathering the product

Red list or otherwise threatened species must not be collected

Location

Collection areas must not have received any treatment with products unauthorized

Must not have threaten habitat/feed for any species.

Minor forest produce-State Government rules may apply.

Collection areas must not be in proximity to sources of pollution

Training & Supervision

Collectors must be trained on harvesting techniques, maximum harvest quantities, environmental damage, and suitable collection places.

Supervised by responsible entity

Records & traceability

Detailed map of collection Area.

Records of collected, stored, sold, transported quantities must be available.

Who Need to be certified

Brokers or exporters who buy and sell the product, without repacking or re-labelling it.

Handlers who repack or label the product.

Product Origin and Trade

Exporters must be sure to hold a copy of valid organic certificates from all their suppliers

NPOP Certified products (processed and unprocessed) can be sold within India, exported to the Middle East., unprocessed products to Europe, Australia, South east Asian countries.

NOP certified products can be traded to USA.

COS certified products can be sold to Canada and USA.

Storage and Handling Requirements

Identification of the product at all stages of product flow during transition.

Segregation of organic products from in-conversion products.

Fumigation of containers, irradiation/ionization, etc. are prohibited.

The location in the warehouse during storage must be labeled as ‘organic’ or ‘in- conversion’.

Who Need to be certified

Any handler who wishes to take up organic livestock rearing with the purposes of processing organic livestock by products.

Source/Origin

Animals must be born from production units complying with organic guidelines.

No transfer of livestock between organic and non-organic units.

ADITI allows livestock from a non-organic source under specific conditions like establishing an organic livestock for first time, renewal of herd, or while introducing breeding males.

Records & Identification

Animals shall bear unique identification numbers in the form of ear tags.

The producer shall maintain the health, breeding and production records of animals maintained in the farm.

Details of parents, source, purchase, animal details (date of birth, parity), breeding details etc. shall be maintained.

Housing

Housing and day-to-day management of animals- Fulfill biological and behavioral needs

Minimum surface area indoors and outdoors and min number of animals per hectare shall be as per standards

Tethering of livestock is prohibited.

Conversion Period

For organic livestock-The conversion period shall be for three (3) years. If Simultaneous conversion of land and livestock, then it is reduced to 2 yrs.

Minimum surface area indoors and outdoors and min number of animals per hectare shall be as per standards

If land alone has reached organic status and the livestock from a non-organic source is introduced, conversion period is ninety (90) days during the implementation after that six months for the livestock reared for milk purposes.

Feed

85% of dry matter feed must be from organic sources

Young animals for natural feed, such as, feeding of maternal milk, milk from other mammal or milk replacer of organic origin.

The permitted supplements, feed materials and processing aids shall be as per NPOP standards

Health Care

A program of health management of animals and testing of the herd as per the common diseases of herd

Minimum surface area of indoors and outdoors and minmum number of animals per hectare shall be as per standards

Preference shall be given for treatment and prevention of diseases herbal/phyto-therapeutic, homeopathic or ayurvedic products when compared to allopathic veterinary drugs or antibiotic

Breeding

Reproduction through natural methods, although artificial insemination may be used.

Breeding techniques employing genetic engineering shall not be used.

Manure

Manure application rates shall be at levels that do not contribute to ground and/or surface water contamination.

Who Need to be certified

A handler who wishes to maintain honey bee colonies organically, commonly in hives in purpose- to collect honey, and other products the hive produces or to produce bees for sale to other beekeepers.

Source/Origin

Beehives must be built mainly from natural materials, like unpainted timber

Beeswax must be from organic apiaries,

Colony infested with anyone of the notifiable disease will not be eligible for certification.

The apiaries shall be placed within a radius of 3 kms from the organic farms.

Concersion & Breeding

Conversion period wont apply when bees are grown in wild and in natural conditions.

One-year conversion period shall apply to those bee colonies which are reared.

During this period, beeswax has to be replaced by wax from organic apiaries.

For renovation of apiaries, 10% per year of the nonorganic queen bees & the swarms can be replaced.

Feed

During local dearth periods, the producer shall provide organic sugar feeding or organic pollen supplements or both so as to maintain colony strength.

At the end of the production season, hives shall be left with sufficient reserves of honey & pollen to survive the winter

Health Care

Veterinary medicine shall not be used in bee keeping

For pest and disease control and for hive disinfection, for protecting frames, hives & combs, permitted substances as per standards shall be used.

Product Extraction

Honey shall be extracted only from sealed combs.

The used brood combs are prohibited for honey extraction.

At time of harvest, repellent consisting of prohibited substances (chemical synthetic repellents) shall not be used.

Beeswax from capping is the purest form of wax and shall be stored separately.

traceability

A diary must be kept for each single colony, including information on general handling, reproduction, veterinary treatments, yields, and special observations.

A detailed map of the apiary site and its surrounding must be presented.

Bird Friendly Coffee

ADITI is authorized to conduct inspections and work with Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center to certify farms according to the Bird Friendly criteria.

The Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center has developed the only 100% organic and shade-grown coffee certification available-“Bird Friendly.” This seal of approval ensures tropical “agroforests” are preserved and migratory birds find a healthy haven when they travel from your backyard to those faraway farms producing the beans you so enjoy every morning.

First, the coffee is certified organic, which means managing a healthy soil base and applying no harmful pesticides to the coffee that could otherwise run off into streams and rivers. This helps reduce the billions of pounds of noxious chemicals injected annually into natural ecosystems that support wildlife and communities.

This program goes a step further, requiring a variety of native shade trees throughout the coffee plantation. The combination of foliage cover, tree height and diversity needed to provide suitable migratory bird habitat while maintaining productive farms is very important part of the program. Producers must be recertified every three years to ensure they continue to meet these requirements and can truly call themselves “Bird Friendly.”

Resulting in better-tasting coffee—its rich flavor comes from beans maturing slowly in the shade. Farmers protect water sources for their communities and sequester carbon by managing the forest-like system, which also provides a host of other products like cocoa and spices and the premium prices they fetch for Bird Friendly coffee supports their families and local economies.

Integra/Eco products

Integra is a socio-environmental and Fair Trade Program created by IBD Certifications, Brazil, applicable to non-organic products and processing from farming. The Integra certification applies to companies, properties, and groups that intend to set into motion processes for human, social, and environmental development that are stimulated by commercial fair trade relationships.

Operations in the certification process are audited for the following criteria:

Critical: Related to some of the international conventions and agreements.

Minimal: Related to domestic legislation.

Progress: Related to the stimulation of local development. In addition to those items already provided by national Law.

Certified INTEGRA means stimulating local socio-environmental development and practicing fair trade. Aditi offers inspection services for the INTEGRA Program on behalf of IBD Brazil in India.

C.A.F.E Practices

ADITI is approved third-party organization who verifies suppliers participating in C.A.F.E. Practices.

C.A.F.E. Practices ensures that Starbucks is sourcing sustainably grown and processed coffee by evaluating the economic, social and environmental aspects of coffee production. These aspects are measured against a defined set of criteria detailed in the C.A.F.E. Practices Generic and Smallholder Scorecards. According to an impact study performed by Conservation International, C.A.F.E. Practices has significantly benefited more than one million workers employed by participating farms.

Basic Elements

Trust, social networks, transparency, shared vision, and knowledge exchange.

Why

Inherent expenses and less documentation.

Whom

Small organic producers.

Coverage

PGS Certification is applicable for local and domestic market.

Peer Appraisals

Local groups of farmers conduct the farm appraisals themselves, maintain that group, and watch to ensure that all follow the standards and the rules. Peer appraisers are among the group, which reduces cost. Mutual recognition and support between Regional PGS Groups ensure better networking for processing and marketing.

procedures

PGS procedures are simple. Documents are basic and use the local language. Being themselves practicing in organic farming, farmers have high degree of understanding on day-to-day knowledge or acquaintance of the farm. Each group member needs to provide; (a) Application form. (b) Farm history sheet. (c) Farmers pledge copy duly signed.

Benifits

Empowers farmers with increased capacity building. Brings consumers to the farm without the need of middleman.