Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
(PGS). As defined by IFOAM, “Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) are
verification systems alternative and complementary to ISO- type indepen-
dent third-party certification.”12 PGSs are similar to the microloan proj-
ects for small groups that have become popular in development circles
in the past few years. Members of a PGS police and guide one another
to fulfill mutually agreed-
upon practices. Such group monitoring is what
guarantees that crops from these farmers are of a certain quality and de-
void of chemical residues. PGS groups are not certified, like ICSs, and cur-
rently there are no official or regulated PGS standards in India.13 Thanal
and the Biodiversity Board agree that PGSs are compatible with Kerala's
larger project of decentralization, local political mobilization, and eco-
nomic self-
sufficiency.
To guide implementation, the state organic farming policy lists twenty-
four “strategies.” The sixteenth one specifically prescribes the PGS and
advises that the state “develop diverse channels for [the] marketing of or-
ganic produce” by seting up “separate markets/facilities for organic pro-
duce certified by the PGS process.”14 This strategy is described in further
detail in the policy and suggests that the government establish several
organic retail outlets throughout Kerala to sell organic food, and work
with existing retailers in the state to source and provide organic food.
It also recommends the creation of farm-to-institution linkages, so that
farmers can sell their food directly to hotels, schools, and government
entities. Notably, this strategy does not refer to export at all. Certification
is referred to at the very beginning of the section (in section 16.1), but by
the “PGS process” only.15 Groups that participate in a PGS would be unable
to export crops as organic, however, without additional third-party verifi-
cation by an accredited agency.
W hen I brought up this possible limitation of PGS processes with Usha,
she emphasized that export and meeting the expectations of foreign con-
sumers were not the end goals of the organic farming policy. Instead, the
goals were to produce safe and poison-free food without introducing addi-
tional middlemen. She believed that no outside party should be involved
in the relationship between a grower and consumer, and that they could
build a trusting relationship without certification but with guidance from
