The Meghalaya government aims to promote organic farming as much as possible in the state but there are strict rules and regulations regarding organic certification and the process to it can be quite complicated.
The Regional Centre for Organic and Natural Farming at Imphal in collaboration with Meghalaya’s Bio-Resources Development Centre (BRDC) organised a two-day training programme on PGS (Participatory Guarantee System)-India Certification.
The event took place on August 13-14 and was aimed at enhancing the knowledge and skills of officers and stakeholders involved in the organic certification process in Meghalaya.
BRDC was designated the organic certifying agency (OCA) of Meghalaya by the state government in February 2020 and has been actively involved in promoting organic certification through PGS-India. It is also authorised as a regional council (RC) by the central government and has conducted various training and awareness programs to support the state’s organic farming initiatives.
Gunanka DB, Joint Secretary to the state government and BRDC Member Secretary emphasised the importance of organic certification in creating opportunities for farming communities, improving market access and supporting local economies. He highlighted the state’s ambitious target of converting over 1 lakh hectares of land to organic agriculture under the State Mission Organic initiative.
The first day saw an overview of PGS-India organic certification standards given and a discussion of the procedures for individual farmer certification, local group certification and large area certification. Pinak Protim Baruah from QMARK International Certifications conducted an online session on the certification process for processing and handling, including the necessary compliance requirements.
The second day featured a live demonstration of the PGS-India portal where participants learned about the registration process and the Jaivi Kheti Portal for marketing certified organic products.
