This document provides information on organic farming in India. It discusses that organic farming avoids synthetic inputs and relies on natural methods. It also outlines the national standards for organic crop production including requirements for seeds, fertilization, pest and disease management, and soil and water conservation. The certification process in India involves accredited certification agencies that inspect farms and issue certification according to standards set by the National Programme for Organic Production.

1. ORGANIC FARMING

2. ORGANIC FARMING
• Organic farming is a system which avoids or
largely excludes the use of synthetic inputs
(such as fertilizers, pesticides, hormones, feed
additives etc) and to the maximum extent
feasible rely upon crop rotations, crop
residues, animal manures, off-farm organic
waste, mineral grade rock additives and
biological system of nutrient mobilization and
plant protection.

3. • National Centre of Organic Farming at Ghaziabad and its six Regional
Centres at Bangalore, Bhubaneshwar, Panchkula, Imphal, Jabalpur
and Nagpur.
• Australia ranks first in area.
• IFOAM is located in Bonn, Germony.
• Albert Howard is referred as father of Modern Organic farming
• The term ‘organic’ was first used in relation to farming by
Northbourne (1940) in his book Look to the Land: “the farm itself
should have a biological completeness; it must be a living entity, it
must be a unit which has within itself a balanced organic life’.

5. • India is bestowed with lot of potential to produce all varieties of organic
products due to its various agro climatic regions.
• In several parts of the country, the inherited tradition of organic farming is
an added advantage.
• This holds promise for the organic producers to tap the market which is
growing steadily in the domestic and export market.
• As per the available statistics, India’s rank in terms of World’s Organic
Agricultural land was 9th and in terms of total number of producers was 1st as
per 2018 data (Source: FIBL & IFOAM Year Book 2018).

6. AREA
• As on 31st March 2018, total area under organic certification
process (registered under National Programme for Organic
Production) is 3.56 million Hectare (2017-18).
• This includes 1.78 million ha (50%) cultivable area and another
1.78 million Hectare (50%) for wild harvest collection.
• Among all the states, Madhya Pradesh has covered largest area
under organic certification followed by Rajasthan, Maharashtra
and Uttar Pradesh.
• During 2016, Sikkim has achieved a remarkable distinction of
converting its entire cultivable land (more than 76000 ha) under
organic certification.

7. PRODUCTION
• India produced around 1.70 million MT (2017-18) of certified
organic products which includes all varieties of food products
namely Oil Seeds, Sugar cane, Cereals & Millets, Cotton, Pulses,
Medicinal Plants, Tea, Fruits, Spices, Dry Fruits, Vegetables, Coffee
etc.
• The production is not limited to the edible sector but also produces
organic cotton fiber, functional food products etc.
• Among different states Madhya Pradesh is the largest producer
followed by Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.
• In terms of commodities Oil seeds are the single largest category
followed by Sugar crops, Cereals and Millets, Fiber crops, Pulses,
Medicinal, Herbal and Aromatic plants and Spices and Condiments.

8. EXPORTS
• The total volume of export during 2017-18 was 4.58 lakh MT.
• The organic food export realization was around INR 3453.48 crore
(515.44 million USD).
• Organic products are exported to USA, European Union, Canada,
Switzerland, Australia, Israel, South Korea, Vietnam, New Zealand,
Japan etc.
• In terms of export value realization Oilseeds (47.6%) lead among
the products followed by Cereals and millets (10.4%), Plantation
crop products such as Tea and Coffee (8.96%), Dry fruits (8.88%),
Spices and condiments (7.76%) and others.

9. Organic Product Portfolio in India…

10. EXPORTPOTENTIAL OF ORGANICPRODUCTS
• 50% of the organic food production in India is targeted towards
exports, there are many who look towards organic food for domestic
consumption.
• The most important reason for buying organic food is the concern for the
health of children, with over 66 percent parents preferring organic food to
non-organic food.
• Though organic food is priced over 25 percent more than
conventional food in India, many parents are willing to pay this higher
premium due to the perceived health benefits of organic food.
• The increase in organic food consumption in India is evident from the fact
that many organic food stores are spurring up in India.
• Today every supermarket has an organic food store and every large city in
India has numerous organic food stores and restaurants.

11. • This is a huge change considering that the first organic food store in Mumbai
was started in 1997.
• Organic food exports from India are increasing with more farmers shifting to
organic farming.
• With the domestic consumption being low, the prime market for Indian
organic food industry lies in the US and Europe.
• India has now become a leading supplier of organic herbs, organic spices,
organic basmati rice, etc.
• The increasing demand for organic food products in the developed countries
and the extensive support by the Indian government coupled with its focus
on agri-exports are the drivers for the Indian organic food industry.
• The domestic market is not sufficient to consume the entire organic food
produced in the country.
• As a result, exports of organic food is the prime aim of organic farmers as
well as the government.

12.  Products available for the export market are rice, wheat, tea, spices,
coffee, pulses, fruits & vegetables, cashew nuts, cotton, oil seeds and
medicinal herbs.
 The channels adopted for the export of organic products, except for tea,
are mainly through export companies.
 Organic tea is produced by major well organized tea estates which are
exporting tea directly.
 In the case of other organic products, predominantly small farmers are
involved in producing organic products. Hence, these products are
exported through exporters.
 Organic products are mainly exported to the following countries (in order
of priority):
• Europe: Netherlands, United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium, Sweden,
Switzerland,
• France, Italy, Spain;
• Americas: USA, Canada;
• Middle East: Saudi Arabia, UAE;
• Asia: Japan, Singapore;
• Australia;
• Africa: South Africa.

16. Regulatory mechanism for organic products
in India
• The National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) defines the regulatory
mechanism which was launched by The Ministry of Commerce and Industry,
Government of India, 2001 and is regulated under two different acts for the
export and domestic market in India.
• The NPOP notified under Foreign Trade Development and Regulation (FTDR) Act
pertains to the export requirements.
• The regulatory body under the FTDR Act is Agricultural and Processed Food
Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) of India functioning under the
Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India.
• The NPOP notified under the Agricultural Produce Grading, Marking and
Certification Act (APMC) monitors the domestic and import market.
• The regulatory body which governs it is the Agricultural Marketing Advisor
(AMA) under the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India.

17. • The NPOP standards for production and accreditation system have
been recognized by the European Commission and Switzerland as
equivalent to their country standards.
• USDA has also accepted the conformity assessment system of NPOP.
• The standards have been formulated in accordance with the
international standards, such as those of CODEX ALIMENTARIUS and
International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements
(IFOAM).
• Consequently, products certified by an Indian accredited
certification agency under NPOP can be exported to Europe,
Switzerland and USA without the requirement of re-certification.

18. The aims of the National Programme for organic production,
inter alia, includes the following:
a. To provide the means of evaluation of certification
programmes for organic agriculture and products as per the
approved criteria.
b. To accredit certification
c. To facilitate certification of organic products in conformity
to the National Standards for Organic Products.
d. To encourage the development of organic farming and
organic processing

19. CERTIFICATION
• It is a certification process for producers of organic food and other organic
agricultural products.
• In general, any business directly involved in food production can be
certified, including seed suppliers, farmers, food processors, retailers and
restaurants.
• Requirements vary from country to country, and generally involve a set of
production standards for growing, storage, processing, packaging and
shipping that include:
• avoidance of synthetic chemical inputs (e.g. fertilizer, pesticides, antibiotics,
food additives, etc) and genetically modified organisms;
• use of farmland that has been free from chemicals for a number of years
(often, three or more);
• keeping detailed written production and sales records (audit trail);
• maintaining strict physical separation of organic products from non-
certified products;
• undergoing periodic on-site inspections.

20. Procedure for Obtaining Organic Farming
Certification
• Any person looking to obtain organic farming certification
for agricultural produce must submit an application in the
requisite format along with the fee and complete field
verification.
• Before submission of application, it is important for the
applicant or farmer to ensure that his/her farm conforms
to the standards laid out by the National Programme for
Organic Production (NPOP) for organic crop production.

21. STANDARDS AND ITS TYPES
International standards
Regional standards
National standards
Certification standards

24. NATIONAL STANDARDS FOR
ORGANIC CROP PRODUCTION
1. Choice of crops and varieties
• Organic seed and plant materials shall be used.
• The Certification programme shall set time limits for the
requirement of certified organic seed and other plant
material;
• When certified organic seed and plant materials are not
available, chemically untreated conventional materials shall
be used;
• The use of genetically engineered seeds, pollen, transgene
plants or plant material is prohibited.

25. 2. Duration of conversion period
• Plant products produced can be certified organic when the national
standards requirements have been met during a conversion period of at
least two years before sowing, or in the case of perennial crops other
than grassland, at least three years (thirty-six months) before the first
harvest of products.
• The conversion period can be extended by the certification programme
depending on, e.g., past use of the land and environmental conditions
but the period must equal or exceed twelve months;
• The certification programme may allow plant products to be sold as
“produce of organic agriculture in process of conversion” or a similar
description when the requirements prescribed under these Standards
have been met for at least twelve months.

26. 3. Diversity in Crop Production
• Where appropriate, the certification programme shall
require that sufficient diversity is obtained in time or place
in a manner that takes into account pressure from insects,
weeds, diseases and other pests, while maintaining or
increasing soil organic matter, fertility, microbial activity and
general soil health.
• For non perennial crops, this is normally, but not exclusively,
achieved by means of crop rotation.

27. 4. Fertilisation Policy
• Biodegradable material of microbial, plant or animal origin shall form the basis of the
fertilisation programme;
• The certification programme shall set limitations to the total amount of biodegradable
material of microbial, plant or animal origin brought onto the farm unit, taking into
account local conditions and the specific nature of the crops;
• The certification programme shall set standards, which prevent animal run from
becoming overmanured where there is a risk of pollution;
• Brought-in material (including potting compost) shall be in accordance with the
standards;
• Manures containing human excreta (faeces and urine) shall not be used;
• Mineral fertilisers shall only be used in a supplementary role to carbon based
materials;
• Permission for use shall only be given when other fertility management practices have
been optimised;

28. • Mineral fertilisers shall be applied in their natural
composition and shall not be rendered more soluble by
chemical treatment.
• The certification programme may grant exceptions which
shall be well justified.
• These exceptions shall not include mineral fertilisers
containing nitrogen;
• The certification programme shall lay down restrictions for
the use of inputs such as mineral potassium, magnesium
fertilisers, trace elements, manures and fertilisers with
relatively high heavy metal content and/or other unwanted
substances eg. basic slag, rock phosphate and sewage
sludge;
• Chilean nitrate and all synthetic nitrogenous fertilisers,
including urea are prohibited.

29. 5. Pest, Disease and Weed Management including
Growth Regulators
• Products used for pest, disease and weed management,
prepared at the farm from local plants, animals and micro-
organisms, are allowed.
• Branded products must always be evaluated;
• Thermic weed control and physical methods for pest, disease
and weed management are permitted;
• Thermic sterilisation of soils to combat pests and diseases is
restricted to circumstances where a proper rotation or
renewal of soil cannot take place.

30. • The use of synthetic herbicides, fungicides, insecticides,
synthetic growth regulators , synthetic dyes and other
pesticides is prohibited.
• The use of genetically engineered organisms or products is
prohibited;
• Accredited certification programmes shall ensure that
measures are in place to prevent transmission of pests,
parasites and infectious agents;

31. 6. Contamination Control
• In case of reasonable suspicion of contamination, the certification
programme shall make sure that an analysis of the relevant
products to detect the possible sources of pollution (soil and
water), shall take place to determine the level of contamination;
• For protected structure coverings, plastic mulches, fleeces, insect
netting and silage rapping, only products based on polyethylene
and polypropylene or other polycarbonates are allowed.
• These shall be removed from the soil after use and shall not be
burnt on the farmland.
• The use of polychloride based products is prohibited.

32. 7. Soil and water Conservation
• Clearing of land through the means of burning organic matter,
e.g. slash-and burn, straw burning shall be restricted to the
minimum;
• The clearing of primary forest is prohibited;
• Relevant measures shall be taken to prevent erosion;
• Excessive exploitation and depletion of water resources shall
not be allowed;
• Relevant measures shall be taken to prevent salination of soil
and water.

33. The steps followed by APEDA for organic
certification of produce are

34. Certification agency:
 The organic certification process is carried out by accredited bodies
under NPOP.
 There are 28 agencies accredited by APEDA.
 These certifying agencies verify farms, storages and processing
units.
 Products certified organic by them carry the India organic logo.
 Organic Logo In order to demonstrate and establish the credibility
and communicating the genuineness and the originality of the
product, the trademark “India Organic” is created and owned by the
Government of India.
 It is granted on the condition of compliance with the National
Standards for Organic Production (NSOP).
 Only such exporters, manufacturers and processors whose products
are duly certified by the accredited inspection and certification
agencies, is granted the licence to use the logo, which is governed
by a set of regulations.

36. Participatory Guarantee System-India (PGS-India):
 The development of PGS in India began in 2006. It was only in 2015
that it was officially recognized.
 PGS-India is a process based certification wherein a group certifies
that its members are growing food organically.
 This certification process has been made free for the farmers,
ensuring that they do not have to bear any cost other than a
nominal cost as set by the farmer community.
 Currently, PGS-India is implemented by the National Centre of
Organic Farming (NCOF) under the National Project on Organic
Farming (NPOF), Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and
Farmers’ Welfare, Government of India.
• Produce from farms that are being converted to organic carries the
PGS-India Green logo during the transition period, a
and after three years of not using any
chemicals the farm will be eligible for the
PGS-India Organic symbol.

38. • In PGS the local farmers conduct their own appraisal and maintain
the rules and standards of the group. It is simpler and cheaper and
is controlled by the farming community itself.
• It’s recommended for organic farmers who work as a group or who
can come together as a group at village or district level.
• The design is best suited for small and marginal farmers where the
community is supported by NGOs or any institution.
• PGS-India controls the quality system through internal QMS
through Farmer Grower Group Certification (GGC) instead of a
certifying agency.
• The role of GGC is as follows:
1. Act as an internal quality control system for small farmer group and
cooperatives
2. Producers who share common products are organized under one
management and marketing system
3. Collective marketing of the organic products,
4. Centralized processing, marketing, and distribution system,
5. Internal control and supervision system to ensure compliance with
organic
certification.

40. Applying for Organic Farm Certification
• Once the requirements for organic farming are satisfied, the applicant
can prepare and submit an application.
• The application for certification must contain the following information:
• An organic production or handling system plan.
• All information requested in the application shall be completed in full i.e.
name, addresses, details of contact person, telephone number of the
authorized person etc.,
• The names of organic certification body to which application is
previously made and out come, non-compliance noted if any, copy of
such records and reason for applying shall be given.
• Any other information necessary to determine the compliance with the
standards specified.
• The prescribed registration fee, one time inspection fee, one time travel
cost should be paid by the operator along with the application form.

41. Fee for Organic Farm Certification
• The fee for issuing organic farm certification differs based on
the certifying authority.
• The following is the fee charged by the Tamil Nadu Organic
Certification Department for organic certification
• Application form
• Fee structure

42. Review of Application
• On submission and review of the application, the decision of
acceptance or rejection on the application would be taken by the
accreditation authority.
• All rejected application would be returned to the applicant
quoting reasons for rejection.

43. Scheduling of Inspection
• Before sanctioning of accreditation, an initial field inspection would be
fixed at a reasonable time so that the operator can verify the capacity to
comply with the standards while conducting the inspection of land,
facilities, and activities.
• The preliminary inspection can be delayed up to six months from the date
of registration to give time for the operator to comply with required
standards including record keeping.
• All onsite inspection must be conducted only in the presence of operator or
an authorized representative of the operator who is educated about the
operation.
• However, this requirement does not arise in the case of unannounced
inspections.
• There should be one annual inspection and additional inspections can be
fixed based on the risk assessment carried out during the initial inspection.

44. Verification During Inspection
• During field inspection, the concerned authorities would verify the
compliance with the NPOP standards.
• The authorities would ensure that the prohibited substances/
materials are not used and in case of doubt, they can draw samples
of soil, water, wastes, seeds, plant tissues, plant, animal, and
processed products.
• The samples should be tested in NABL accredited ISO 17025
laboratories.
• The operator would bear the cost of samples sent for analysis.
• During the inspection, the concerned authorities can also conduct an
interview with the person responsible for the organic production
system to confirm the accuracy of information gathered during the
inspection and the completeness of observation gathered during the
onsite inspection.

45. • The inspector can also collect other required information.
• After inspection, the concerned authority would draft a checklist,
inspection report and obtain the signature of the operator or his
representative.
• A copy of the checklist and inspection report should be sent to the
concerned operator and evaluator.
• Inspection reports must be valued by the evaluator within a
reasonable time and any additional information required should
be addressed to the operator.
• In case of any non-compliance with the general standards, an
explanation should be called from the operator and sanctions can
be levied based on requirements.

46. Granting Of Organic Farm Certification
• On conformance with the National Programme for Organic Production
(NPOP), the accreditation agency would issue the Certificate of
Registration, Transaction Certificate and Product Certificate to the
eligible operators.
• The issue of this certificate shall be based on the decision made by the
certification committee.
• If the operation does not comply with the standards, the operator would
be intimated about denial of certification stating the reasons.
• Upon receipt of such reports, the operator can correct the
noncompliance and submit the report to the accreditation agency.
• In case of denial, the operator can also file an Appeal to the Appeal
Committee.

47. • Record-keeping - written, day-to-day farming and marketing records,
covering all activities, must be available for inspection at any time.
• In addition, short-notice or surprise inspections can be made, and specific
tests (e.g. soil, water, plant tissue) may be requested.
• For first-time farm certification, the soil must meet basic requirements of
being free from use of prohibited substances (synthetic chemicals, etc) for
a number of years.
• A conventional farm must adhere to organic standards for this period,
often, three years. This is known as being in transition.
• Transitional crops are not considered fully organic.
• A farm already growing without chemicals may be certified without this
delay.
• Certification for operations other than farms is similar.

49. National Accreditation Body
• The National Steering Committee would also function as the National
Accreditation Body.
• The members of the National Accreditation Body shall comprise of
representatives from Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Commerce and
Industry, APEDA, Coffee Board, Spices Board and Tea Board.
• The Chairman of the Body shall be the Chairman of the National Steering
Committee.
• The work of the National Accreditation Body will include:
(a) Drawing up procedures for evaluation and Accreditation of certification
programmes.
(b) Formulating procedures for evaluation of the agencies implementing the
programmes
(c) Accreditation of inspection and certification agencies Every certifier will
implement a certification programme and a programme cannot be
accredited without accrediting the certifier.

50. Evaluation Committee
• Eligible Inspection and Certification Agencies implementing certification
programmes will be evaluated by an Evaluation Committee.
• The Evaluation Committee will be appointed by the National Accreditation
Body.
• The members of the Evaluation Committee will comprise of members drawn
from the APEDA, Coffee Board, Spices Board, Tea Board, Ministry of
Agriculture and Export Inspection Council of India (EIC) / Export Inspection
Agencies (EIAs).
• APEDA, on behalf of the National Accreditation Body, will receive and screen
applications from the certification agencies, will coordinate and arrange
evaluation visits etc. to ascertain the credentials of certification programmes
of the applicants.
• The Evaluation Committee will submit its recommendations to the National
Accreditation Body for considering accreditation.

51. Accredited Inspection and Certification
Agencies
• Based on the recommendations of the Evaluation Committee,
eligible Inspection and Certification Agencies will be accredited
by the National Accreditation Body.
• These agencies should be well versed with the operating
procedures, the NSOP and the international standards.
• Their programmes should have been in operation for at least
one year and they should be able to provide the supporting
documents.

52. Inspectors
• The inspectors, appointed by the accredited Inspection and
Certification Agencies will carry out inspection of the
operations through records maintained by the operators as
per specified formats and also by periodic site inspection.
• Based on compliance with the standards and certification
programmes, accredited Inspection and Certification
Agencies will certify the organic status of products and
operations, specifying their conditions and
recommendations.

53. LABELLING
• The person or company legally responsible for the production or processing
of the product shall be identifiable.
• Single ingredient products may be labelled as "produce of organic
agriculture" or a similar description when all Standards requirements have
been met.
• Mixed products where not all ingredients, including additives, are of organic
origin may be labelled in the following way (raw material weight):
• Products made with entirely with certified organic ingredients and methods
can be labelled as “100% certified organic”
• Where a minimum of 95% of the ingredients are of certified organic origin,
products may be labelled "certified organic" or similar and should carry the
logo of the certification programme.

55. • Where less than 95% but not less than 70% of the ingredients are of
certified organic origin, products may not be called "organic".
• The word "organic" may be used on the principal display in statements like
"made with organic ingredients" provided there is a clear statement of the
proportion of the organic ingredients.
• Where less than 70% of the ingredients are of certified organic origin, the
indication that an ingredient is organic may appear in the ingredients list.
Such product may not be called "organic".
• Added water and salt shall not be included in the percentage calculations of
organic ingredients.
• The label for in-conversion products shall be clearly distinguishable from
the label for organic products.

57. • All raw materials of a multi-ingredient product shall be listed on
the product label in order of their weight percentage.
• It shall be apparent which raw materials are of organic certified
origin and which are not.
• All additives shall be listed with their full name.
• If herbs and/or spices constitute less than 2% of the total weight
of the product, they may be listed as "spices " or "herbs " without
stating the percentage.
• Organic products shall not be labelled as GE (genetic engineering)
or GM (genetic modification) free in order to avoid potentially
misleading claims about the end product.
• Any reference to genetic engineering on product labels shall be
limited to the production method.

62. ACCEREDITATION AGENCIES
• The national steering committee designated
• APEDA
• COFFEE BOARD
• SPICES BOARD
• TEA BOARD
• COCONUT DEVELOPMENT BOARD
• DIRECTORATE OF CASHEW AND COCOA
BOARD

63. ACCREDITION PROCEDURES
• These regulations will apply to certification agencies who comply with ISO
Guide 65
• No certificate granted by certifying agency in respect of products as organic
will be valid unless the agency is accredited by respective accreditation
agency.
• GOI will constitute committee for accreditation of respective accreditation
agencies separately.
• Applicant seeking accreditation as an agency or renewal have to submit an
application to the authorized officer in prescribed form available with
accreditation agency along with fee prescribed.
• On receipt of application, the accreditation agency will arrange for field
evaluation.

64. • Committee for accreditation will consider application along with
evaluation report.
• If applicant fulfills the prescribed criteria, the committee will give
approval to certifying agency.
• On receipt of certificate duly signed by certification agency, the
accreditation agency will issue the Certificate of accreditation within a
period of 15 days from the date of receipt of approval.
• The accreditation agency may terminate the accreditation status, if
performance of agency is not in accordance with the accreditation
criteria.

65. Challenges for organic agriculture
• Maintaining sustainability in the global economy: balancing organic
principles with commercial imperatives.
• Maintaining flexible organic standards and certification processes to
address issues.
• Pursuing international harmonization of standards and certification.
• Developing locally applicable agronomic solutions to production
constraints, such as weeds, animal health and soil fertility.
• Preserving food quality while trying to increase productivity.
• Inadequacies in regulatory and marketing structures (e.g. labelling).
• Establishing and maintaining credibility and professionalism.