Source: Business Standard
Context
The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare has revamped the certification framework for both organic and natural farming under the Participatory Guarantee System (PGS)-India — via an official order issued a few weeks ago — restricting Regional Councils (RCs) to operate within a single state only. Under the new rules, RCs — the primary local facilitation and verification agencies under India’s peer-review, government-run certification system — will no longer be permitted to take up certification work outside their allotted state area for any scope of certification. Existing RCs operating across multiple states will get a transition window (until 30 April 2027) to transfer local groups to state-based RCs. Existing MoUs signed between state authorities and RCs before 31 March 2026 will continue, but new inter-state registrations are barred. The overhaul aims to strengthen quality control, improve accountability, and enhance localised support for organic + natural farming certification. Stakeholders, however, have raised concerns that the changes may exclude state-run bodies from the accreditation framework.
What are the new rules for Regional Councils (RCs)?
- RCs restricted to operate within one state only for all scopes covered under certification.
- RCs not allowed to take up certification work outside their one allotted state.
- Any agreement made hereafter will not be considered for extension.
- RCs not allowed to change their allotted state after allocation.
What is the transition provision for existing RCs?
- RCs currently operating across multiple states get a transition window.
- They may continue certification activities for existing local groups outside their assigned states.
- But cannot register any NEW groups beyond their designated area of operation.
- Transition based on MoUs / agreements signed between state authorities and RCs BEFORE 31 March 2026.
- First-phase implementation deadline: Transfer of local groups to state-based RCs to be completed by 30 April 2027.
- All concerned agencies directed to plan the transition to minimise disruption.
What is PGS-India?
- Full form: Participatory Guarantee System-India.
- Launched: 7 April 2011.
- Under: Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare (initially under the National Project on Organic Farming).
- Type: Decentralised, peer-review, trust-based organic certification system.
- Designed for: Small and marginal farmers — as a low-cost alternative to third-party certification.
- Core idea: Farmers verify + certify each other’s produce through group inspections and peer review.
- Nationwide network: ~563 Regional Councils (pre-revamp) across India.
- Total area certified under PGS-India Organic: ~12.88 lakh hectares.
What are the two types of PGS certificates?
- PGS-Green: Given during the in-conversion (transition) period — cannot be labelled organic; uses “Under Conversion to Organic” label.
- PGS-Organic: Full organic certificate given after conversion period is completed and organic status is achieved.
What are the modes of registration under PGS-India?
- Local Group Registration: Minimum 5 farmers; main mode.
- Individual Producer Registration: Interim (1-2 years); must join a Local Group by year 2.
- Large Area Certification (LAC): Entire villages/taluks/districts declared traditional/default organic (introduced in 2020).
What is Large Area Certification (LAC)?
- Certification of large contiguous traditional/default organic areas — no chemical fertilisers/pesticides/GM crops.
- Requirements:
- Oath by all farmers in the village that they do not use agrochemicals or GM crops.
- Gram Sabha Resolution that the village does not use agrochemicals.
- Department of Agriculture certifies no shops sell pesticides/fertilisers in the village.
- Verification team constituted by NCONF + State Agriculture Department + PGS RC.
- No transition period required — certificate issued in 6 months.
- Introduced by MoAFW in 2020.
What is NPOP — the other Indian organic certification?
- Full form: National Programme for Organic Production.
- Established: 2001.
- Managed by: Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA).
- Under: Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
- Uses: Third-party certification by accredited agencies.
- Focus: Organic exports — strict international compliance.
- Standards: Based on National Standards for Organic Production (NSOP).
- Logo: Both PGS-India and NPOP-certified products carry the common Jaivik Bharat logo.
How does PGS-India differ from NPOP?
- PGS-India: Peer review; low-cost; domestic market; small farmers; under Ministry of Agriculture.
- NPOP: Third-party certification; higher cost; export market; under Ministry of Commerce (APEDA).
- Common: Both draw from NSOP; both carry the Jaivik Bharat logo.
- Cross-recognition: PGS-certified farmers can transition to NPOP without a conversion period.
What is NCONF?
- Full form: National Centre for Organic and Natural Farming.
- Formerly known as National Centre of Organic Farming (NCOF) — renamed in 2024 to include natural farming.
- Established: 2004 as NCOF.
- Headquarters: Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.
- Under: Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare.
- Role: Nodal agency for organic + natural farming policy + PGS certification secretariat + data custodian for PGS.
- Regional Centres: 6 across India — Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, Hisar, Imphal, Jabalpur, Nagpur.
What are the related schemes?
- Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) — launched 2015; provides financial assistance for PGS certification; ₹50,000/ha over 3 years.
- Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North Eastern Region (MOVCDNER) — launched 2015; focus on NE states.
- National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF) — approved November 2024 under Krishi Kalyan Yojana; outlay ₹2,481 crore (₹1,584 cr Centre + ₹897 cr States).
- Bhartiya Prakritik Krishi Paddhati (BPKP) — 2020; sub-mission under PKVY for natural farming.
What is the difference between organic and natural farming?
- Organic farming:
- Uses certified organic inputs — bio-fertilisers, bio-pesticides, compost, vermicompost, green manure.
- Prohibits synthetic chemicals, GMOs.
- Certified under PGS-India or NPOP.
- Natural farming (e.g., Zero Budget Natural Farming – ZBNF):
- Uses only on-farm resources — cow dung, cow urine, jaggery, indigenous seeds.
- Focus on soil microbiome + biodiversity.
- Aims for zero external input costs.
- Championed by Andhra Pradesh Community-Managed Natural Farming (APCNF) — largest natural farming programme in the world (~10 lakh farmers).
- Subhash Palekar popularised ZBNF in India.
Practice MCQs
Q1. With reference to the recent revamp of the PGS certification framework (2026), consider the following statements:
- Regional Councils (RCs) have been restricted to operate within a single state for both organic and natural farming certification.
- RCs are now allowed to take up certification work outside their allotted state area.
- The transfer of local groups to state-based RCs is expected to be completed by 30 April 2027.
- The revamp is aimed at strengthening quality control, improving accountability, and enhancing localised support.
How many of the above statements are correct?
(a) Only one (b) Only two (c) Only three (d) All four (e) None
(Statement 2 is wrong; RCs are NOT allowed to take up certification work outside their allotted state area under the new framework — this is precisely the key restriction of the revamp.)
Q2. With reference to the Participatory Guarantee System (PGS)-India, consider the following statements:
- It was launched on 7 April 2011 by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare.
- It is a peer-review, trust-based decentralised organic certification system.
- It is designed for small and marginal farmers as a low-cost alternative to third-party certification.
- It is primarily used for exports of organic products.
How many of the above statements are correct?
(a) Only one (b) Only two (c) Only three (d) All four (e) None
(Statement 4 is wrong; PGS-India is designed for the DOMESTIC market and small farmers — NOT for exports. Organic exports use the NPOP (National Programme for Organic Production) certification managed by APEDA.)
Q3. With reference to the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP), consider the following statements:
- It is managed by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA).
- It functions under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
- It requires third-party certification by accredited agencies.
- It is the same as PGS-India, using the same peer-review approach.
How many of the above statements are correct?
(a) Only one (b) Only two (c) Only three (d) All four (e) None
(Statement 4 is wrong; NPOP uses THIRD-PARTY certification by accredited agencies for export markets — while PGS-India uses peer-review certification for domestic markets. Both draw from NSOP but are DIFFERENT systems.)
Q4. Consider the following statements about the structural components of PGS-India:
- Local Groups are the main functional unit and require a minimum of 5 farmers.
- Regional Councils (RCs) serve as local facilitation and verification agencies.
- The PGS Secretariat is housed at the National Centre for Organic and Natural Farming (NCONF), Ghaziabad.
- The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), Chennai serves as the apex regulatory body.
How many of the above statements are correct?
(a) Only one (b) Only two (c) Only three (d) All four (e) None
(Statement 4 is wrong; the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) is NOT part of PGS-India’s structure — NBA deals with biodiversity access + benefit sharing. The apex bodies for PGS-India are the National Advisory Committee, National Executive Committee, and PGS Secretariat (NCONF).)
Answer Key
- (c) — Statement 2 wrong: RCs cannot work outside allotted state.
- (c) — Statement 4 wrong: PGS is for domestic market, not exports.
- (c) — Statement 4 wrong: NPOP is third-party, not peer-review.
- (c) — Statement 4 wrong: NBA is not part of PGS-India.
Exam Relevance
- UPSC Prelims & Mains: Very High — GS-III (Agriculture, Government Schemes, Food Security); Prelims (institutions, schemes, certifications); Mains (organic + natural farming as sustainable agri).
- NABARD Grade A: CRITICAL — Direct subject: PGS, NPOP, PKVY, organic farming, APEDA; ARD paper (Phase II descriptive).
- State PCS (Sikkim, MP, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, MH, Kerala, all NE states): CRITICAL — Regional relevance for organic/natural farming.
