Organic Certification
Organic certification offers assurance that consumers can trust . The South African Organic Certification Landscape is a document describing the use of logos and seals in the organic sector.
The South African organic certification landscape
1st party
A first party organic certification is a “self-claim” which is not verified by outside parties. It covers a direct relationship between a farmer and a consumer whereby you visit the farm or discuss with the farmer and are satisfied with his claims.
2nd party
Second party organic certification in South Africa is assured by a Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) and works withshort supply chains. PGS provides a locally focused quality assurance system that certifies producers based on active participation. PGS SA is a SAOSO partner.
3rd party
Third party organic certification is required for long supply chains and export. The processes are certified annually by an accredited certifying body (ACB) to specific organic standards.
SAOSO has developed a local Standard for Organic Production and Processing which is included in the IFOAM Family of Standards. Chapters 1, 2 and 3 are applicable to all crop and animal production systems. Chapters 8, 9 and 10 are applicable to all systems, including processing. Appendix 9 deals specifically with PGS systems.
The SAOSO organic standard is verified locally. Consumers can recognise compliance with the standard represented by these two trademarked logos.
The group conducts farm visits, in which both consumers and farmers have a say, and on approval grants certificates to its farmer members in the relevant category. Farmers may label their products accordingly. They can use either of two seals:
PGS Organic In-Conversion Farmers who cannot support/ attest to the organic history of the land or who are converting from chemical to organic agriculture may be granted this seal by their group.
If you would like to consider being third party certified, please go through this infographic.
Questions for farmers thinking about third party organic certification.
Farmers who are already producing a surplus of organic produce and organized as an Organic farmer Association (OFO), and wanting to aggregate and sell their produce to a local market where there is consumer demand for organic produce, get together to form a PGS group.The PGS group agrees on operational procedures and their Basic Production Principles, based on an internationally accepted standard, against which farmers will be assessed. The members sign pledges and formally establish the PGS group at a general meeting. The group completes a self-assessment form (like a status report), shares the required information with PGS SA and pays an annual membership fee. It will also be asked to share the database of its certified members annually.
The group conducts farm visits, in which both consumers and farmers have a say, and on approval grants certificates to its farmer members in the relevant category. Farmers may label their products accordingly.They can use either of two seals:
PGS Organic In-Conversion Farmers who cannot support/ attest to the organic history of the land or who are converting from chemical to organic agriculture may be granted this seal by their group.
