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ACCREDITATION Accreditation is a procedure by which an authoritative body evaluates and gives formal recognition that a certification programme is in accordance with the standards of the authoritative body. For organic agriculture, certification bodies can apply the voluntary international standards and/or the national mandatory standards and be accredited by the related "authority". At international level, the International Organic Accreditation Service (IOAS) accredits certification bodies according to IFOAM Accreditation Programme criteria by delivering the "IFOAM Accredited" logo. |
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| IOAS is an independent NGO which ensures global equivalency of certification programmes and attempts to harmonize standards, whilst taking into consideration local differences. It must be noted that membership of IFOAM by certifying bodies does not constitute IOAS accreditation. At national level, governments or national accreditation bodies accredit certification bodies operating in their country, if their country has an organic agriculture legislation. Both private and public bodies adhere to the International Organization for Standardization basic standards for accreditation of certifiers (ISO 65) in addition to their specific requirements. The appointed Accreditation Agencies in India are the Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), Coffee Board, Tea Board and Spices Board. |
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Organic agriculture is becoming of growing importance in the agriculture sector of a number of countries, irrespective of their stage of development.
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OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS |
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The demand for organic products has created new export opportunities for the developing world.
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