Organic Certification Agencies

• There are two types of certification agencies

➢National certification agencies

➢ International certification agencies

1. National Certification Agencies:

• Organic Certification Nepal (OCN ) is one of the founder members of Certification Alliance (Cert All). Being part of Cert All, OCN offers an internationally accredited inspection and certification services to local clients and operators.
• Some initiatives have been taken by government (such as DOA, NAST, NARC, IAAS, Tea and Coffee Development Board, Kathmandu Metropolitan), nongovernment (I/NGOs such as SSMP, Winrock International, ECOCENTER,
• Nepal Permaculture Group, SECARD, HOPTA and AEC).
• National network organization -Nepal Permaculture Group (NPG) and the private sector like Organic World and Fair Future (OWF), Organic Village etc are aggressively involved in promotion and marketing of organic products.

2. International Certification Agencies:

1. Argencert: Argentina’s leading certification agency was created in 1992. In 1997, Argencert became the first Argentine agency accredited by IFOAM.
2. California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF): CCOF’s purpose is to promote and support organic agriculture in California and elsewhere.
3. International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM): The federation’s main function is coordinating the network of the organic movement around the world. IFOAM is a democratic, grassroots oriented federation.
4. The Ecological Farming Association: Formerly the Committee for Sustainable Agriculture is a nonprofit educational organization that promotes ecologically sound agriculture.
5. Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF): Sponsors research related to organic farming practices, disseminates research results to organic farmers and to growers interested in adopting organic production systems, and educates the public and decision-makers about organic farming issues.
6. Organic trade Association: It is a national association representing the organic industry in Canada and the United States, Members includes growers, shippers, processors, certifiers, farmer associations, brokers, consultants, distributors and retailers.
7. Community Alliance with Family Farmers: CAFF political and educational campaigns are building a movement of rural and urban people who foster family- scale agriculture that cares for the land, sustains local economics, and promotes social justice.
8. Institute for Market-ecology (IMO)

• It is one of the first and most renowned international agencies for inspection, certification and quality assurance of ecofriendly products.
• Since more than 20 years, IMO has been active in the field of organic certification but it is also expert in the sectors of natural textiles, sustainable forestry, and social accountability monitoring.
• IMO is closely co-operating with the popular private label Naturland (IFOAM accredited) and conducts Naturland inspections world-wide.
• In the field of agriculture, IMO is certifying all types of agricultural products, from traditional produce such as coffee, tea, spices, cocoa, nuts, fruits, vegetables, cereals, pulses, cotton, dairy products, honey, fish & seafood.

9. SKAL

• SKAL International, Netherlands is a certification and inspection organisation, which certifies organic products, processes and inputs.

• Further sustainable forest/wood and textile are certified. Skal International operates worldwide in Western and Eastern Europe, South America and Southern Asia.

• Through the network of the shareholder nearly all countries in the world can be covered.

10. ECOCERT INTERNATIONAL

• ECOCERT is an inspection and certification body accredited to verify the conformity of organic products against the organic regulations of Europe, Japan and the United States.
• The ECOCERT certification mark is one of the leading international organic certification marks, enjoying a good reputation and trusted by both consumers and the organic industry.