Pgs participatory guarantee system

India, Organic Food

PGS-India is known as a quality assurance initiative that is locally relevant, highlight the involvement of stakeholders, including producers and consumers and operate outside the shape of 3rd party certification. As per IFOAM (2008) definition Participatory Guarantee Systems are regionally focused quality assurance systems. They will certify manufacturers based on effective participation of stakeholders and are built on a foundation of trust, social networks and knowledge exchange”. PGS is a process through which people in similar conditions (in the case small holder producers) determine, inspect and verify the availability practices of each and every other and take decision on organic certification (PGS-Green and PGS-Organic). PGS system has volume of basic components which accept a participatory approach, a shared eyesight, transparency and trust. Participation is an important and active part of PGS.

Crucial stakeholders (producers, consumers, stores, traders and more such as NGOs, Societies/ Gram panchayaths/ State/Central Govt. organization/agencies /farmer etc ., ) are engaged in your initial design, and then in the operation of the PGS. In the operation of a PGS, stakeholders (including producers) take part in decision making and essential decisions about the operation from the PGS alone. In addition to being mixed up in mechanics of the PGS, stakeholders, particularly the manufacturers are involved in a structured ongoing learning procedure, which will help them improve what they do. This technique is facilitated by the PGS group by itself or in a few situations a supportive NGO/ Societies, Gram panchayaths, State/Central Govt. organization/agencies etc . The learning process is normally žhands-onŸ and involves discipline days or perhaps workshops. The idea of participation embodies the principle of ordinaire responsibility for ensuring the organic honesty of the PGS.

Guiding Guidelines of PGS

PGS India method is based on participatory approach, a shared eyesight, transparency and trust. In addition , it gives PGS movement a National reputation and institutional structure.

Contribution

Engagement is an essential and energetic part of PGS. Key stakeholders (producers, consumers, retailers, investors and others just like NGOs, Societies, Gram panchayaths, State/Central Govt. organization/agencies etc) are involved in the initial design, and then inside the operation with the PGS and decision making. Contribution is a vital and powerful part of PGS. Participation symbolizes the theory of ordinaire responsibility pertaining to ensuring the organic honesty of the PGS. This collective responsibility can be reflected through:

Distributed ownership in the PGS

Stakeholder diamond in the development and procedure process Understanding of how the program works and

Direct connection between suppliers and customers and other stakeholders

Distributed Vision

The responsibility intended for implementation and decision making is done collectively and driven by a common distributed vision. All of the key stakeholders (producers, facilitating agencies, NGOs, social companies, State Governments and condition agencies) support the guiding principles and goals, PGS is aiming to achieve which is attained initially through their engagement and help in the design after which by joining it. This may include determination in writing through signing a credit application and pledge that includes the vision.

Visibility

Openness is created by having all stakeholders, including makers and buyers, aware of just how the guarantee system works to include the standards, the organic and natural guarantee process (norms) with clearly defined and documented systems and how decisions are made. Likewise all the information regarding farmers, their very own produce, part of land under cultivation and so on can be reached by the average person through the PGS portal. At the grass roots level visibility is maintained through the effective participation with the producers in the organic assurance process which will include

• Information writing at meetings and training courses
• Participation in internal home inspections (peer reviews)
• Involvement in decision making.

Trust

The sincerity base upon which PGS-India programme is built, is definitely rooted inside the idea that suppliers can be dependable and that the organic guarantee program can be an appearance and verification of this trust. The foundation of this trust is built from the idea that the key stakeholders collectively develop their distributed vision then collectively continue to shape and reinforce their particular vision throughout the PGS. The idea of ‘trust’ presumes that the individual producer provides a commitment to protecting mother nature and customers’ health through organic production. The idea of žtrustŸ assumes which the individual manufacturer has a determination to protecting nature, maintaining biodiversity, repair of soil wellness, and consumersŸ health through organic creation which are totally free of chemical residues.

Mechanism for expressing reliability includes:

• Announcement (a maker pledge) using a witnessed affixing your signature to of a pledge document
• Created collective starting by the group to follow the norms, principles and standards of PGS

Horizontality

PGS India will likely be nonhierarchical for group level. This will echo in the overall democratic framework and through the collective responsibility of the PGS group with sharing and rotating responsibility, by participating producers directly in the expert review of each other’s facilities, and by openness in making decisions process.

National Networking

PGS India while keeping the spirit of PGS unchanged aims to provide the entire movement an institutional structure. This really is achieved by networking the groups under prevalent umbrella through various facilitating agencies, Local Councils and Zonal Councils. National Center of Organic and natural Farming should be the custodian of data, determine policies and guidelines and undertake monitoring through field monitoring and product screening for residues. Regional local authorities and facilitating agencies aid the groups in capacity building, teaching, knowledge/ technology dissemination and data posting on the PGS website

Features of PGS above third party certification system In PGS organic farmers include full control of the documentation process and are also able to generate far more credible and powerful system of quality assurance compared to other PGS-INDIA documentation. Important benefits of this system over third-party documentation system will be as follows:

a. The procedures are simple and user friendly, documents are standard and make use of both English and Hindi as languages.

w. All the members are neighborhood and seen to each other. Being themselves rehearsing organic maqui berry farmers have high degree of understanding on everyday knowledge or perhaps acquaintance in the farm.

c. Expert appraisers will be among the group and stay in the same community, therefore include better usage of surveillance

d. Peer appraisal instead of third party inspections decreases cost

electronic. Mutual identification and support between Local PGS groups ensures better networking to get processing and marketing.

f. Allows farmers with increased capacity building

g. Take consumers towards the farm without the need of middleman l. Unlike grower group qualification system, PGS offer every farmer with individual qualification and each farmer is liberated to market its very own produce 3rd party of group.

i actually. Consumers and buyers are usually involved in development and confirmation process

l. Random residue testing in regular periods ensures the integrity and increases the trust.

Limitations of PGS

PGS certification is only to get farmers or communities which could organize and perform as a group within the village or in close-by villages with ongoing territory and is also applicable upon, on-farm activities comprising of crop development, processing and livestock showing (including bee keeping) and off-farm digesting by PGS farmers with their direct goods. Individual maqui berry farmers or number of farmers having less than a few members are not covered below PGS. They will either need to opt for alternative party certification or join the current PGS community group. PGS is applicable about on-farm actions comprising of crop production, processing and livestock parenting and off-farm processing by simply PGS maqui berry farmers of their immediate products. Off-farm processing activities such as, storage, transport and value addition activities by simply persons/agencies besides PGS maqui berry farmers away from the group are not protected under PGS. Off-farm input approval naturally by the group is applicable for the members of the same group and cannot be accepted as a basis for universal approval for other teams. Off-farm inputs need to be approved by each group for their member’s use in case to case basis. PGS ensures traceability only up to end till it truly is in the custody of PGS group. As soon as the product leaves the guardianship of PGS group there is not any control of PGS on the integrity, Consequently PGS is perfect for local immediate sales/ immediate trade among producer and consumer and direct operate of packed finished product with PGS logo among PGS group and traders/ retailers. Nevertheless Local Organizations and potential buyers in appointment with RC can develop some mechanism with complete traceability information to allow utilization of PGS emblem on items packed by traders/ merchants.