Speakers: Ms. Shylaja and Ningappa Kakol
 Ms. Shylaja’s session introduced participants to the need for certification in organic farming and the processes and standards that apply for certification. The role of APEDA in setting up guidelines and approving the agencies that can certify products was explained. Participants’ questions on the advantages and disadvantages of certification, the minimum number of years for conversion for annual crops and tree crops, default risks and penalties and group certification were clarified.
Mr. Ningappa Kakol described the newly developed Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) and its relevance to small farmers whose priority is local consumption of their produce (i.e., not export). The session included details of ICS processes, documentation required (with sample formats) at farmer and group level and regional council’s level, inspection mechanisms and appraisals. A Kannada version of the farmer’s pledge was distributed among participants.
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