Organic certification enforced too early

By SESHU MARINGANTI

From July 1, 2018, Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is making it compulsory to obtain certification for all food products labelled ‘organic’. Is it the right thing to do? Let us find out.

According to industry studies, only 0.8 % of India’s agricultural land is organic. There are about a million Indians doing organic farming, and 80% are small, having land of 1-2 hectares. For most of them, farming is the only source of income.

In India, there are two primary ways of getting Organic Certification, Third Party Certification and Participatory Guarantee System (PGS). The Government of India has implemented a National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP). This plan involves an accreditation programme for the certification bodies. There are 28 such accredited entities. The cost of NPOP certification is prohibitive for a small farmer. Added to this, the cost involved in renewing the certificate every year and inspections makes it impossible for a small farmer to afford.

PGS-India is a locally-focused, quality assurance system aimed at providing an affordable alternative to third-party certification. However, there are several bottlenecks in its implementation. The Regional Council (RC) is expected to train and facilitate local farmer groups to enrol into PGS. However, on the ground, there is little awareness among these groups due to insufficient resources and budget allocation towards actively educating and handholding small farmers.Introducing a law to make certification mandatory without solving the existing structural issues may discourage small farmers who do not have a certificate. The three-year waiting period to get the certification will make things worse.

In my opinion, the following measures from the government authorities will bring in more enthusiasm to this sacred organic movement of providing safe food to consumers and also encourage more farmers to take up organic farming:

* Strengthen the Regional Councils and focus on creating more awareness about the PGS system to farmers.
* Setup testing labs in every district of the country, so that any consumer can get the product tested at an affordable cost and with ease. If this is achieved, the market forces will automatically weed out fake products and players.
* Make certification guidelines, farmer-friendly and encourage genuine retailers to support individual farmers and small farmer groups.
* Give reasonable time to implement the certification guidelines.
Those who share the same view as above can sign a petition online here: https://www.change.org/saveorganicfood

Seshu is a resident of HSR Layout, an IT consultant and a retailer of organic goods