Information on voluntary Certification - Foodcert India

24Some organic farming criteriaCrop production requirements apply to:selection of seeds and plant materialsmaintenance of soil fertility and therecycling of organic materialsprohibition of genetically modified inputsdiversity of crops on farmprocessing, packaging and traceabilityof productsuse of organic fertilizers and compoundsfor the control of pests, diseases and weedsAnimal production requirements apply to:animal health and welfare,nutrition, breedingtransport and slaughter proceduresHow to get certified?Standards for organic farming have mainly been developed by privatecertification bodies but a number of Asian countries also have nationalorganic standards and regulations (e.g. Japan, the Peopleûs Republic ofChina, Malaysia, the Republic of Korea, Thailand). In addition, there areprivate initiatives that promote organic farming (e.g. the Green Net/EarthNet Foundation in Thailand). The European Union, the United States ofAmerica and Japan all have national regulations on the labelling of organicproducts and if producers want to export their products to these countries,they must meet these regulations.The choice of a certification agency is very important. The certificationagency chosen by the producer must be officially recognized in the countrywhere the product is to be sold. National certification agencies are oftenless expensive than international agencies but they may not be as wellknown in some foreign markets.The conversion period of 2 - 3 years is often costly for the producerbecause the produce must be sold at conventional prices even though