Himachal Pradesh - Get Organic Agriculture Product Certificate

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Procedure

Apply In-Person:

1. A person (a farmer/ group of farmer’s /processor/ trader) who is looking for an organic farming certificate for their agricultural produce must ensure that his/her farm conforms to the standards laid out by the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) for organic crop production.
2. They must submit an application in the requisite format along with the fee and complete field verification as specified by the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP).
3. The Global Certification Society (GCS) has provided the general standards for organic crop production which are available in Link website.
4. The operator can make a call or send email for request of certification.
5. The guidelines to fill the application forms are available at Link
6. The procedure registration form is available at Link
7. The initial inquiry form is available at Link
8. An Organic Crop Producer (Individual Grower) or a Grower Group (A group of small farmers) is required to get registered with Global Certification Society (GCS). Based on your request the (GCS) shall supply a set of application packet.
9. Once they receive the complete documents, they will review the same on the basis of applicable standards.
10. In case, any incomplete information/non-compliance are noticed or any additional information is needed, they will contact you.
11. Once required information is gathered or non-compliance is over, an on-site audit is planned on a mutually agreed date and time. This reviewing of application usually takes about a couple of days based on the information provided by applicant.
12. On the prescribed date a trained Organic Inspector, familiar with the type of operation will reach the operation site (area). The inspector will thoroughly examine each process and documents of your operation for the verification and compliance of required standards.
13. Inspection normally takes half a day to 3 days depending upon the complexity of operations.
14. After the receipt of the inspector's report, it is reviewed to evaluate compliance with the applicable standards. During the Secondary Review if more information is required they will contact you. After the receipt of report from the inspector, the Secondary Review generally takes 2-4 days.
15. After completion of the Secondary Review, the file is sent for the final decision where it takes 1-2 weeks.
16. After the final decision is made, you will receive your Organic Certificate along with a covering letter citing the conditions for awarding certificate.
17. The Organic Certificate contains name of your company/group, address, category of certification and list of certified organic product.

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Required Documents

The below are the necessary documents:-

• Individual Grower Certification
  • GCS Initial Application Form
  • GCS Certification Agreement Form
  • GCS Field History Form
  • GCS Annual Field Plan
  • GCS Farm Products Inventory List and Product Estimated Yield
  • GCS Organic System Plan (OSP)
    • Field Map
    • Input list
    • Seed list
    • Equipment list
• Grower Group Certification
  • GCS Initial Application Form
  • GCS Certification Agreement Form
  • GCS Field History Form
  • GCS Annual Field Plan
  • GCS Farm Products Inventory List and Product Estimated Yield
  • GCS Organic System Plan (OSP)
    • Field Map
    • Input list
    • Seed list
    • Equipment list
  • Grower Group Questionnaire
  • Grower Group Info spreadsheet or similar member listing
  • Three-year field history records for all group members (spreadsheet)
  • Copy of Internal Control System (ICS) document
  • Organizational chart (showing responsible parties and how ICS duties are divided)
  • Copy of conflict of interest form used for ICS staff
  • Copy of member agreement/contract
  • Copy of internal ICS audit report for group members
  • Record-keeping templates (field activity records, member and staff training, equipment and transportation cleaning, etc.)
  • Location map showing overall group area and production units
  • Map(s) of production units showing the locations of individual group members
  • Sample farm maps for five members
  • Storage layout/maps

You are required to fill up these documents and submit to Global Certification Society.

Office Locations & Contacts

The Chief Executive Officer,
Global Certification Society,
Kesar Bagh Colony, Mohal Nihang,
Opposite Chaudhary Hospital,
Palampur,Himachal - 176 061

• Mobile: +91-9748643099; +91-9418385850;+91-01894-234230
  
•  Enail: [email protected] / [email protected] / [email protected]
  
•  Website: Link
  

Eligibility

The product to get the certification needs to be associated with the authenticity since two to three years. For first time certification, the soil must meet the basic requirements of being free from the use of prohibited substances (synthetic chemicals, etc) for a number of years. A conventional farm must adhere to organic standards for this period.

Fees

The detailed fee structure is available at : Link

Validity

The organic certificate remains valid for one year from the date mentioned on the certificate. Once you have entered in to the certification system, you must apply for annual renewal to maintain your certification status.

Documents to Use

• General standards for organic crop production - link
• Procedure form - Link
• Guidelines for filling the form - Link
• Initial inquiry form - Link
• Fee structure – Link

Sample Documents

Please attach sample completed documents that would help other people.

Processing Time

The entire Certification Process may take about 4-12 weeks depending upon documents and co-operation provided

Related Videos

Videos explaining the procedure or to fill the applications.
Attach videos using the following tag <&video type='website'>video ID|width|height<&/video&> from external websites.
Please remove the '&' inside the tags during implementation.
Website = allocine, blip, dailymotion, facebook, gametrailers, googlevideo, html5, metacafe, myspace, revver,
sevenload, viddler, vimeo, youku, youtube
width = 560, height = 340, Video ID = Can be obtained from the URL of webpage where the video is displayed.
e.g In the following url 'http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0US7oR_t3M' Video ID is 'Y0US7oR_t3M'.

Instructions

• Application shall be scrutinized.
• Any information required shall be communicated to the operator and operator shall submit the requested information immediately.
• Application without prescribed fee shall not be reviewed.
• After review of application decision shall be made by Global Certification Society. on acceptance/ rejection of the application.
• The rejected application shall be returned to the applicant citing reasons for rejection along with the fees enclosed.
• Fee paid for the applications accepted by Global Certification Society. shall not be refunded at any circumstances.
• An initial onsite inspection shall be fixed and communicated to the operator after registration or shall be noted in the registered copy of application itself.
• The operator shall market his products only after the label approval. Labels that are to be used by the operator shall be sent to Global Certification Society. for approval. GLOBAL CERTIFICATION SOCIETY. shall approve the label as per standards and send the decision to the operator. GENERAL INFORMATION: CONVERSION PERIOD: Any conventional farm that has been using chemical fertilizers and pesticides shall have a conversion period of three years before issuing an organic certificate. Any farm where organic management is being practiced since more than three years, organic certificate shall be issued at the end of first year of registration. However, a third party declaration needs to be submitted along with the application. The third party shall not have any personal relation with the operator.
• An applicant can withdraw the application at any time but the fees paid shall not be refunded

Required Information

The below are the necessary details for Organic Agriculture product registration:

• Address
• Fax no
• Certification needed for which standards
• Area of the farm in hectares under organic cultivation :
• Total area of cultivation (Organic & Inorganic) :
• Provide the survey numbers of the plots which are under organic cultivation:
• Provide the latitude and longitude of each of the organic farms:
• Are you aware of methods of Organic production & are you practicing it :
• Are you interested in Group certification:
• What is the source of seeds?
• Are there reports of soil and water analysis
• What is the source of irrigation?
• Crop intended Crop pattern production.
• Source of Inputs  :
• Average Yield during the Last 3 Years
• CropYearAmount of Yield
• Tool kits used in crop production
• Name of the operator
• Farm address

Need for the Document

Organic certification addresses a growing worldwide demand for organic food. It is intended to assure quality and prevent fraud. For organic producers, certification identifies suppliers of products approved for use in certified operations. For consumers, "certified organic" serves as a product assurance, similar to "low fat",
"100% whole wheat", or "no artificial preservatives". Certification is essentially aimed at regulating and facilitating the sale of organic products to consumers. Individual certification bodies have their own service marks, which can act as branding to consumers—a certifier may promote the high consumer recognition value of its logo as a marketing advantage to producers. Most certification bodies operate organic standards that meet the National government's minimum requirements.

Information which might help

• If the Organic System of operation does not comply with the Standards, the operator shall be intimated about denial of certification stating the reasons for such action with non-conformities noticed and time limit for submission of correction.
• The operator may write to certification agency office if there are any complaints against either the staff or the organization or certification decision or any other related matter
• In cases where the operator is not satisfied with the manner in which the complaint was dealt with, particularly related to any certification decision, the operator may appeal in writing to the certification agency appellate authority along with a prescribed fees within 21 days of certification decision.
• The appellate authority shall review the case and submit a decision to the operator. All complaints and appeals will be dealt with confidentially in a fair and appropriate manner and a decision will be taken and informed to the concerned operator.
• A notice of denial of certification shall inform the operator about the reasons and applicants right to reapply for certification or file an Appeal to the Appeal Committee.
• A contract is signed by the Operator with GLOBAL CERTIFICATION SOCIETY. confirming that
• Adherence to Applicable Organic production standards
• Cooperate in on-site inspection visits, announced or unannounced, of organic production sites (farm, storage, office, manufacturing unit etc.) and if applicable conventional production sites.
• Sampling for residue analysis.
• To provide access to all production sites relevant to inspection, book-keeping, other supporting documents and related records.
• To be responsible for any possible additional inspection requested by the Certification Committee following serious non-compliance with organic standards.
• This contract provides Global Certification Society. and the operator an opportunity to clearly define, document and understand the requirements for certification, and to resolve any differences in understanding between Global Certification Society.  and the operator prior to the assignment of the initial inspection.

Other uses of the Document/Certificate

India Organic Certification is a label given to organic products after validation, which ensures that the product or raw materials used in the product were grown through organic farming - without any chemical fertilizers,  pesticides, or induced hormones. A trademark - "India Organic" will be granted on the basis of compliance with the National Standards for Organic Production (NSOP). Communicating the genuineness as well as the origin of the product, this trademark will be owned by the Government of India

External Links

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Others

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