JOCHEN NEUENDORFF1, ULRICH SABEL-KOSCHELLA2, DANIEL VILDOZO2
1Ressource Protection LTD. (GfRS), Germany
2German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ), Germany
In the EU and USA, organic products are obtaining an increasing share in the market. The necessary inspection of farms and foodstuffs industries shall be carried out by independent institutions, so called certification bodies, which can be state-run or private.
In developing countries, still today the necessary inspections are mainly carried out by European and North American certification bodies. The high costs however, limit the market access for small producers. This kind of inspection and certification system may lead to new dependencies which is undesirable from the point of view of development policy.
The inspection and certification of organically produced goods in third countries can be carried out through:
Establishing such institutions and developing legal regulations for organic agriculture in developing countries is also being promoted in the framework of the GTZ -- development cooperation projects.
There are 3 options in the EU for the recognition of control bodies:
The inspection and certification of organically grown products must be, in the long run, undertaken by local certification bodies in developing countries. Only this way there can be a guarantee for a cheaper and long-term secure market access for small producers. Like this, new undesired dependence can be avoided.
The GTZ has supported different local certification bodies in developing countries like Peru, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Mexico, Chile and Costa Rica, among others.
Keywords: Certification in developing countries