A good Certification body has to be strictly independent (not related to own trading activities or associations and their own policies and economic interests). A clear prize policy according to the time requirements for Inspection and certification has to be in place. Certification bodies should charge flat rates and no ‘membership fees” and definitely no percentages to ensure independence.
Organic Certification for the international markets is available through different agencies. The costs for certification are still a major obstacle, especially for small-scale producers. with low export quantities, regardless of whether the certification body is a national or international operating organization. Especially, the cost for conversion is a difficult factor for the commercial development of small-scale farmer based organic agriculture. Products produced during this period cannot be labeled as organic. Therefore there are no export possibilities. While producers have to start with organic production and have the extra expenses for certification, they cannot get premium prices while converting.
One constraint is that potential buyers are often only interested in already certified organic products, ready to buy. Only view people in the respective businesses realize that the development of such projects with small-scale farmers need some time and investment -or at least obligation- but would open business opportunities, if fair and sustainable partnerships among small-scale farmers and committed business sectors can be established.
To keep the costs in a feasible range it helps to choose a certification body with local representation and inspection service. As for all products, it is best to compare the service, competency and prize before choosing any certification body The prize for the same service may differ significantly (In some cases up to 500 percent), while the best choice is not always the most expensive!
BCS ӦKO-GARANTIE based In Nuremberg, Germany is a private CERTIFICATION BODY, dedicated to worldwide certification of ORGANIC PRODUCTS. BCS, established with the primary task of implementing the European Council Regulation on products of organic origin is among the first three European Certification Bodies, registered to the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) as “Registered Foreign Certification Organization” (RFCO).
BCS Ӧko-Garantie / South-East Asia Representative, international Inspector / joergrosenkranz@yahoo.com
