www.pgsorganic.in Vol: 4 - Issue: 1 May 2012 for Private Circulation only Split pulse mill MAHAGREEN Women-led Producer Company n the 11th of March 2012, Alexander Mahagreen Producer Company (Mahagreen) completed one year of legal existence as a producer company. The past year has been a learning experience. The company is owned by the farmers and the products offered by Mahagreen are what the farmer shareholders or members produce. Produce of many small and marginal farmers, even value added food products using simple technologies, are many times combined, packaged and sold under the label of Mahagreen. Currently, Mahagreen has about 1000 members representing farmers clubs in 50 villages. These farmers are actively engaged in the production of organic foods, organic farm inputs and value added food produce mostly from small and marginal farms. Their products, particularly organic farm inputs are sold to rural markets within their own and surrounding villages. The rural demands are mostly for farm inputs like vermicompost, Cow Pat Pit (CPP) and biodynamic composts. The food grains ORGANIC NEWS O and some basic value added food produce has found markets in Aurangabad, Mumbai, Pune, Secunderabad, Chennai, Bangalore, Coimbatore and Nilgiris. The company is led by its Managing Director, Ms. Chandrakalabai Bobade, seemingly a typical woman of a rural village in Aurangabad district of Marathwada region. However, she and the other seven directors, are not typical when they get down to business. During the last year, Mahagreen recruited a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to take care of the business and compliance matters. During the year 2012-13, the plans are to expand the range of marketed organic produce to include organic milk and other organic dairy products. Mahagreen believes in the principles of E.F. Schumacher, “small is beautiful”small farms and small appropriate technologies to empower farmers more. - Joy Daniel Promoting PGS in Indonesia O n Friday, the 9th of March, 2012, a meeting was organized with Dr. Ir. Zaenal Bachruddin, Director General of the Directorate of Processing & Marketing of Agricultural Products, Ministry of Agriculture and Organic Alliance Indonesia (AOI). The Ministry is to shortly come out with Organic regulation which would define the certification system applicable for Indonesia. In the 1st draft of the Organic decree, published in Oct 2009, it allowed the development of an alternative certification system which would be Contd. on pg 5 Meeting at the Agriculture Ministry 1 visited their villages to buy seeds. It held discussions with the women’s groups to understand the benefits that they feel have accrued to them through their participation in PGS. Hyderabad on the 3rd & 4th April 2012. A heartening feature was the confidence they felt in dealing with the external world. during its 2nd annual general body meeting held at Pastapur. An important feature of the visit was the detailed scrutiny of the documentation. took a day to visit some sangamsV functioning under the facilitation of Decan Development Society.PGS Organic Council reviews Local Sangam meetings of the Council are a good opportunity to understand local contexts and the progress made by various Facilitation Councils and Local Groups. The bi-annual 2 ORGANIC NEWS . It was great to see the records being maintained meticulously. produce and compost. -Mathew John The Council. now. They also mentioned that local farmers. by virtue of their unique characteristics are preferred by farmers. farmers have played a key role in the creation.Treasurer Other India Bookstore http://www. pest and disease resistance. have over the years lost the diversity and traditional knowledge. it is a major strategy for maintaining the genetic diversity in the crop. In order to make the farmers self reliant. -Vanaja Ramprasad Discussion on community seed bank Organic agriculture books & CDs available at: Office bearers of PGS Organic Council Joy Daniel Claude Alvares Mathew John . a programme that started with conservation. Traditional seeds. Green Foundation provided opportunities for farmers to produce and exchange seeds for their own needs. Each variety of different crops has its unique characteristics like drought resistance.President . maintenance and promotion of crop diversity with the help of the traditional skills which they have developed over centuries.Secretary .otherindiabookstore. The value addition and marketing edge for the seeds was that they were produced with organic inputs and hence were suited to Challenges in reviving diversity of seeds Collection of seeds of traditional varieties Segregation of cross pollinated crops during cultivation Maintaining purity of seeds during harvesting and storage Lack of sophisticated methods for drying & testing for germination Documentation of the seed production process the conditions of organic certification. gradually emerged as a pioneering movement. lodging resistance. a garden or field where traditional varieties are safe guarded.com ORGANIC NEWS 3 . Through this system. high culinary value and medicinal properties. Thus. CSB can strengthen PGS by Providing seeds of different crops and varieties to maintain diversity Providing technical information and guidelines on crop characteristics and organic farming Initiating & installing processing units for PGS farmers Accessing local markets Ensuring formalities of PGS are complied Popularizing the concept and significance of PGS Disseminating traditional knowledge Local group discussion near Bangalore The changing scenario in agriculture in the last decades has diverted the attention of the farmers to chemical intensive agriculture not only in the irrigated areas of commercial agriculture but also the small farmers who traditionally focus on multicropping systems to produce food for their own subsistence.Integrating Organic Seed Production & PGS Community Seed Bank A community seed bank is not just a store where a seed is kept for distribution and marketing or a sophisticated storage facility which has temperature and humidity control. So.com e: pgsocindia@gmail. Farmers who had diverse varieties of the cereals like paddy and millets suited to their needs. through production of seeds. It is a system in the process of community culture which includes village facilities. conservation and multiplication of these traditional varieties is very crucial in this context and thereby preservation of valuable local crop germplasm. Ir Sunarya. so as not to confuse the consumers. Dr. also joined the meeting. completely bans the export of raw and semi-finished rattan products from Indonesian shores. The Director General also heads OKPO.Mathew John The workshop on Rattan EcoCertification took place in Bogor. Mathew was also able to provide the global perspective of PGS and the efforts being made by the civil society. 2012. It was also pointed out by Dr. Stakeholders from all along the value chain were present for this workshop – farmers. Rattan traders felt that with Rattan being the flagship product of the country. In the 2nd draft issued in April. 2011. that self certification was allowed legally under the ISO Standards as reference for PGS development. IFOAM provided a letter of support and an excellent meeting allowed them to understand the efforts and advantages of providing space for PGS in the Organic regulation. Indonesia on the 6th& 7th of March. the Director of Quality & Standardization. The Indonesian government would like a single ‘Indonesia Organic’ logo for both 3rd party and PGS. Negotiations with the Ministry of Agriculture have helped in the ministry keeping itself open to the idea of PGS being included. . the Indonesian Organic Alliance (AOI) and the Consortium for Community-based Forest Management Systems. This workshop was organized through a collaborative effort between the NonTimber Forest Products . The new export rule which came into force from the 1st of Jan. they needed the encouragement to grow and harvest the crop sustainably. build the market. government and other role players. This is something similar to Brazil where the same principle is being applied. only third party certification is accepted. At that time. 2012. presented their efforts in establishing PGS in Indonesia – PAMOR Indonesia (Quality Guarantee through Participative Methods).Mathew John 4 ORGANIC NEWS .Exchange Programme. the Competent Authority of Organic Food (OKPO) invited AOI to give their comments on how the system could be developed. a crucial person in the Ministry. Mathew from Keystone shared about PGS and the progress it has made over the past few years – examples of India and Brazil allowed a debate to take place whether such a system would fit in for a wild+cultivated produce. The closing session had many of the participants agreeing that PGS seemed a logical and simple system to get communities together to revive an interest and in turn. Gardjita Budi.Answer for Rattan Eco-Certification? Contd. from pg 1- Promoting PGS in Indonesia acceptable to the consumers. ministries of trade and forests and many others made up the discussion group. former head of the National Standards Authority. Ministry of Agriculture. Indro Surono from AOI.PGS . . traders. Ir. The OWC attracted close to 2000 participants from 76 countries.Ph: 0413-2338165 Green Drops Salem . 2011. 2011 made it possible for organic farmers with best practices to come and participate in the first ever General Assembly of the Intercontinental Network of Organic Farmers’ Organizations (INOFO) and OWC. Two days earlier.Ph:0821-4247160 Ooty .Ph: 0487-2422974 Conscious Food Mumbai . The exhibition and demonstrations in the side events were also learning experiences.Ph: 044-24430093 Bon Appetit Puducherry .Ph:0423-2238412 & Kotagiri . I was pleasantly surprised to see the General Assembly of INOFO create additional posts of VicePresident and to find myself elected to the post of its Vice-President for Asia. Five farmers from India benefited from this generosity. Mathew & Miguel at the IFOAM GA The Organic World Congress of IFOAM is the triennial gathering of organic promoters. scientists. Eva Torremocha from Spain is the other IFOAM PGS Committee member who has been elected to the World Board.Ph:0423-2441340 Coonoor .Ph: 022-24947902 Jaivik Haat New Delhi . The next OWC will be held at Istanbul. Mathew John.Ph: 0821-2330404 Alter Media Eco Shop Calicut . traders. farmers and consumers under one roof.Ph:04266-273887 Nesara Mysore . There was a large delegation from India and many of us presented papers in the conference and pre-conference seminars.Ph: 080-65624197 Green Shops Mysore . was elected on 04 October. 2011 Mr.Miguel Braganza Joy. in 2014. who is the Treasurer of the PGS Organic Council and member of the IFOAM PGS Committee. There were a large number of scientifically validated papers presented by delegates from other countries that were useful. including the Organic World Fair and Festival.Ph: 0240-2340290 Restore Chennai . Turkey. as the only member from Asia to the World Board 2011-14. The various side events.Ph:011-45797091 IFOAM GA ORGANIC NEWS 5 . . at Seoul. drew in some 250.Ph: 080-23321314 Jaivik Krishi Society Bangalore .Ph: 0427-4040849 Simply Organic Bangalore . International PGS Committee members at dinner PGS products available at Organic Link Aurangabad . The Korean Organizing Committee (KOC) for the 17th Organic World Congress held in September-October.000 visitors.PGS and INOFO at Organic World Congress (OWC). K. continues with two issues annually. Yadav of NCOF to obtain the federal Government’s approval for PGS in India. This was adopted and yielded positive results.V.pgsorganic. the level of compliance with the “Basic Standards” of organic agriculture and PGS is high. 2007. It all began with a workshop in Goa. The first meeting was held in MapusaGoa on 30 April. Yadav. The Council met in Bidkin. in September. A. in September. the Council approved the Rules & Regulations and it was decided to register under the Societies Act. 2011 and a new Managing Committee was elected for a two year term. Director. Ashok K.History of PGS in India Preparatory meeting in Goa. The consumer was exposed to the PGS label for the first time in India. The present PGS Organic Council has an interesting history. who had initiated simple and transparent guarantee systems for local markets. in 2004. Since then. Many NGOs participated T in a FAO of UN and National Centre for Organic Farming (NCOF) of India facilitated workshop.Miguel Braganza ORGANIC NEWS 6 . . The PGS Organic Council has eleven ‘Facilitation Councils’ as its members. Brazil. In November. The newsletter started in June. 2006 he term ‘Participatory Guarantee System’ (or simply PGS) was coined after the joint IFOAM-MAELA alternative certification workshop in Torres. Brazil and India have legally accepted PGS labeling. The logo has since been revised. In 2009. The review of the progress in PGS was done at a seminar in Goa in April. PGS has spread in Latin America. Dr. India has 22 recognized ‘National Languages’ and PGS literature is printed in eight of the more commonly used languages. It was finally registered as PGS Organic Council in Goa on 13 April. Participants representing twenty countries attended and India was represented by Dr. The “Farmer’s Pledge” is administered in the locally prevalent socio-religious practices. PGSOIC participated in ICCOA’s “India Organic Trade Fair” at New Delhi. The NGOs agreed to set up pilot groups of farmers to test the feasibility of adopting PGS. USA and also a member of the IFOAM PGS Task Force. The documents of PGS have been uploaded on the website www. Dr. 2006. had not moved forward and it seemed discouraging. Alexander Daniel and Mathew John. A brochure was released at Trichy in October. Satheesh of DDS emphasized that PGS must be controlled by the small holding and marginal farmers and be built on their traditional knowledge and innovations. Timbaktu Collective followed suit by adding the PGS label to the ‘Timbaktu Organic’ labeled products. Asia. P. Discussions were held with the Joint Secretary-INM and Dr. NCOF emphasized the need for an unitary system for appraisal and documentation for uniformity in PGS across the country. A format was developed for reporting by Facilitation Councils and this was adopted. 2009. This meeting was led by Ron Khosla of Certified Naturally Grown. There was tremendous debate as many NGOs who had agreed to be part of the pilots. on the west coast of India. He helped in setting up the basic structure of documentation required through an intensive two day workshop. Aurangabad. 2011. He recommended the use of audio-visual media for recording data and communicating with illiterate farmers. 2008. 2008. Europe and Africa. It was decided to launch a newsletter to promote PGS in India. The first code was allotted to DDS in 2008 and it launched its PGS labeled produce in the market to mark the Telugu New Year. Consequently.in. S.Y. was brought to a close with a delectable millet lunch that was partaken by all present for the event. the Indonesia and the Philippines. The closing ceremony. . In each of these places. seed sovereignty ecologically sustainable agriculture. that saw the participation of a number of farmers from the surrounding villages and a number of members from various countries that included Canada. and farming that respects and adheres to the principles of biodiversity were underlined. The Festival was flagged off with a colorful Inaugural Function organized in Rejinthal. Laxmi Oath taking ceremony ORGANIC NEWS 7 .People Reassert Faith in DDS Bio Festival The caravan wound its way through 55 villages. as well as the 13th Mobile Biodiversity Festival. with festivities marking the return of cherished local seeds into active farming systems through a colourful Biodiversity Festival. time to celebrate their identity as farmers. Myanmar. Four farmers from the surrounding villages were honored for their unflinching adherence to the traditional biodiversitybased agricultural systems. community-seed sovereignty and the ideas of local production. Benin. Burkina Faso. This is the thirteenth year of the Festival — time for the farmers of the Deccan dryland region to celebrate their food systems. The month-long journey culminated in the a rousing finale that was organized on the campus of the DDS-Green School at Machanur in Jarasangham Mandal. especially to a new generation of farmers. the caravan of bullock carts was greeted with dance troupes performing traditional folk dances and by meetings with farmers wherein the importance of biodiversity. local consumption and local markets and rich bio-diversity on their farms. Biodiversity Caravan I t has been more than a decade since we started celebrating the return of the Sun on Sankranti Day. Karnataka (Vinod) Keystone Foundation(KF) a. Tamil Nadu b. Groves Hill Road. Tamil Nadu (PAF) d. 35. Tamil Nadu c. Orrisa b. Maharastra GREEN Foundation a. of Local No. Andaman & Nicobar d.org Ph: 04266-272277 MILLETS ONE STOP SOLUTION for CLIMATE CRISIS 8 ORGANIC NEWS . Maharashtra (IIRD) b. Karnataka Maharashtra Org Farmers Fed (MOFF) Maharashtra Timbaktu Collective Andhra Pradesh Deccan Development Society (DDS) Andhra Pradesh 1 1 5 7 78 53 16 5 1449 318 316 57 7 MH D 01 C 10 AP C 10 C 20 AP C 20 C 30 MH C 30 A 40 UA C40 TOTAL 52 398 8 53 966 9 40 200 10 Chetana Vikas Maharashtra 11 Grassroots [PHGDF] Uttarakhand 21 134 40 502 391 5270 Printed for PGS Organic Council Editor: Mathew John c/o Keystone Foundation. Tamil Nadu Covenant Centre for Development (CCD) a. Karnataka Code No. Kerala (INFACT) c. Goa b.B. Uttar Pradesh (KVK) b. Botanical Society of Goa (BSG) a. Kotagiri-643217 e: mathew@keystone-foundation. Sindhdurg 6 Institute for Integrated Rural Devp (IIRD) a.PGS Organic Council (As on 31 March 2012) States 1 OFAI a. of Groups Members A 01 UP A 01 KL A 01 WB A 01 KA A 01 A 10 TN A 10 A 20 OR A 20 TN A 20 AN A 20 MH A 20 A 30 TN A 30 KA A 30 A40 GA A40 MH A40 B 01 MH B 01 WB B 01 TN B 01 KA B 01 3 1 7 1 25 10 48 5 2 13 113 3 3 7 6 6 30 107 35 58 4 1 94 5 593 5. West Bengal (SEVA) c. West Bengal (DISHA) d. P.