Participatory guarantee system, equivalence and quality control in a comparative study on organic certifications systems in Europe and Brazil

Luiz Ermindo Cavallet,Maurizio Canavari,Paulo Fortes Neto

doi:10.4136/ambi-agua.2213

Abstract

Although organic agriculture in Brazil targets mainly local consumers, there is growing demand for research related to commercializing this sector abroad. A study was done in Europe on the perception of entities related to this theme, specifically on Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS), the feasibility of equivalence between the countries, and control procedures. An exploratory study was conducted through interviews with five organic certification bodies, two in Switzerland, three in Italy, and with a producer association in Italy. PGS is little known in Europe in general and it is suggested that it be better disseminated in the member countries. PGS has been evaluated positively for reducing certification costs and promoting benefits from a social aspect, but it can fail in organic compliance and in large scale production. There are significant differences that must be overcome in order to establish equivalence, such as the lack of homogeneity among European countries on control procedures, the existence of PGS in Brazilian legislation, lack of wild crop products in Europe, different conversion periods, and the requirement of a higher number of inspections in Brazil. Equivalence is seen as beneficial to both Europe and Brazil, and it would therefore be appropriate to promote its viability. The Brazilian law on organic agriculture is taken as very restrictive and complex.

Highlights

Due to the growing appreciation of products related to environmental sustainability, organic production systems have become increasingly more economically important in recent years
This study explored the opinions of institutions in Europe, which operate with the certification of organic agriculture, and focused on topics such as participatory guarantee systems (PGS), equivalence of certification and organic quality control procedures
Considerations in Italy on Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) The interviewees were unanimous in stating that PGS is beneficial for Brazil, and that its main advantage is to reduce the final cost of organic product, as long as inspection is done on a voluntary basis (Table 1)

Summary

Introduction

Due to the growing appreciation of products related to environmental sustainability, organic production systems have become increasingly more economically important in recent years. Global retail sales of organic food and beverages reached 81.6 billion dollars in 2015, a growth of about 10% over the previous year. Providing a certification service becomes an important aspect of ensuring organic quality. International audit certification plays a predominant role in production and organic trade. The audit can be broadly defined as a systematic procedure whereby an organization evaluates its practices and operations in order to ascertain conformity with certain pre-established criteria, and these criteria may be legal requirements. The addition of an audit procedure tends to raise the final cost of the organic product since it is run by a private organization that charges the certified operators for its services

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Conclusion