Procedure for Certification of OrganicFarm /Unit

Certification Standards

Online Application Form

Component of Organic Farming

Certification Committee:

• Certification bodies establish certification committees for evaluating enterprises compliance with the Certified Organic Programme.
• Certification Committees act in a fair and impartial manner and maintain confidentiality about the records of the certification body.
• Members of certification committee are required to sign and agreement of confidentiality.

• Certification bodies have certification standards that confirm to the minimum standards provided by the Certified Organic Program.
• Certification bodies must comply with all aspects of the Certified Organic Program.

Application Procedures for Certification?

• The enterprise becomes a certification body member. (Membership fee schedule as determined by certification body).
• The operator contacts certification body for organic certification information and application.
• The operator completes and submits according to the schedule distributed by certification body;

- application for certification;
- land use/history information;
- an affidavit, statutory declaration or contract;
- Copies of required soil tests;
- Certification fees.

• Upon acceptance of the enterprises' application, certification body notifies the verification officer and issues all pertinent information.
• The verification officer conducts and inspection
• The verification officer submits the inspection report to the certification body.
• Upon receipt of the inspection report to the certification body will forward a copy of the verification officer's report to the enterprise.
• The Certification Committee determines the status of the enterprise according to minimum criteria documented in the Certified Organic Management Standards.
• The Certification Body notifies the enterprise of the Certification Committee decision.

Certification requirements for producers and farmers?
The certification requirement for producer and farmer are as under:

• Implementation for an Organic System Plan, with proactive fertility system;
• Three years with no application of prohibited materials prior to certification (no synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, or GMOs);
• Conservation measures; environmentally sound manure, weed disease, and pest management practices and soil building crop rotation systems;
• Use of natural inputs and/or approved synthetic substances listed as allowed on the national organic production standards list;
• No use of prohibited substances while certified;
• No use of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) defined in the rule as "excluded methods",
• No sewage, sludge or irradiation;
• Use of organic seeds, when commercially available;
• Use of organic seedlings for annual crops;
• Certain Restrictions or use recommendations on use of raw manures and compost;
• Maintenance of buffer zones, depending ion risk of contamination.

Certification requirement for Processing/Handling operation?

• Implementation of an Organic Handling Plan;
• No commingling or contamination of organic products during processing;
• No use of GMOs or irradiation;
• Proactive sanitation and facility pest management practices;
• Required use of organic minor ingredients in "organic" products, when commercially available;
• Use of approved label claims for "100% organic", "organic" (at least 95% organic ingredients), "Made with organic ingredients" ( at least 70% organic ingredients) and proper use of the word "organic" in ingredient list (less then 70% organic ingredients);
• Required use of specific records to verify compliance with the regulation.

Certification requirement for Livestock Operations?

• Implementation of an Organic Livestock Plan;
• Mandatory outdoor access for all livestock;
• Access to pasture for ruminants;
• No antibiotics, growth hormones, or GMOs;
• 100% organic feed and approved feed supplement; and
• Organic management from last third of gestation or 2nd day after hatching. Twelve of months organic management for dairy.

National Guidelines on Certification Process

CERTIFICATION

The Responsible Body and Certification Decisions

Note: Certification decisions are not limited to initial approval of operators, but also approval of products, changes in production, disciplinary measures etc.

Each decision on certification is taken by person (s) different from those who carried out the inspection or assessment.

The agency responsible for certification decisions shall reflect a diversity of stakeholders, without any single interest predominating.

Where certification decisions are delegated to a small committee or officers, the Inspection and Certifying Agencies shall demonstrate reporting and review functions that enables the agency responsible for certification to exercise ultimate control and responsibility for such decisions.

Exceptions

If exceptions are granted, clear criteria and procedures for granting exceptions shall be evolved.

• Exceptions shall be clearly limited in time.
• The rationale for any exception shall be properly recorded.

The Certification Process

The Certification policies and procedures shall interalia include;

• all procedural steps in processing the application, until final certification;
• that the certification status of all operators and their production be indicated throughout the certification process;
• procedures of extension and updating certification, including certification of individual products; [The Inspection and Certifying Agencies shall require the operator to inform of any changes in production modification to the products, the manufacturing process, extension of acreage etc. The Inspection and Certifying Agencies shall determine whether the announced changes require further investigations. In that case, the operator shall not be allowed to release certified products resulting from such changes until the Inspection and Certifying Agencies have notified the operator accordingly]
• that the certification decisions be recorded and clearly communicated to the operator;
• that, where certification is denied, the reasons shall be clearly stated;
• that the programme shall be able to impose conditions and restrictions. Mechanisms for monitoring compliance with such conditions and restrictions shall be in place.
• that the criteria for the acceptance of applicants, formerly certified by other certification programmes shall be documented. Relevant records from the other certification programme must be requested;
• that when asked for by the operator, relevant records are released to another certification programme.
• that processing of inspection reports and certification decision shall be done in a timely manner.
• that processing of any issue related to violations shall be done with highest priority.

  All policies and procedures shall be documented.

Appeals

The Inspection and Certifying Agencies shall have procedures for the consideration of appeals against its decisions.

The Inspection and Certifying Agencies shall:

• keep a record of all appeals
• take appropriate follow up actions
• document the action taken

Persons responsible for the decision being appealed against shall not be involved in the final decision on the appeal.

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