Training on Internal Control System for Organic Certification of Spices

09 Mar, 2022

A two-day virtual training on Internal Control System (ICS) for organic production of spices was organised from 8-9 March 2022. ICS is a part of a documented quality assurance system that allows an external certification body to delegate periodic inspection of individual group members to an identified body or unit within the certified operator. This means that the third-party certification bodies must inspect the well-functioning of the system and perform a few spot-check re-inspections of individual smallholders.

Dr Santosh Deshmukh (Organic Certification Expert) took sessions on ICS with the field team from AVT McCormick along with turmeric and cardamom crop experts. Some farmers also participated virtually. He presented the process of organic certification and the requirements of ICS for managing the organic certification procedure. He shared all the required documents for farmers' registration to ICS. He presented the structure of the ICS team, how to manage it and the roles and responsibilities of each member. He also explained risk assessment and entry of farmers in the certification process.

Dr A.K. Vijayan (Cardamom Expert) and Mr R.M. Subramanian (Turmeric Expert) also shared their inputs and highlighted the importance of biodiversity for improving the agroecosystem and, thereby, the yield and quality of the produce. Dr Deshmukh also presented crop-wise package of practices for organic spices production. There was a good discussion on how to avoid contamination from neighboring farms. Mr Ashok Nair from AVT McCormick concluded the training with a way forward on the implementation of ICS with cumin and turmeric farmers in the project pilot regions.

Screenshot from film on organic agriculture. Watch here

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About the project

The ‘Enhancement of Smallholder Spice Farmer’s Capacities in Sustainable Farming’ aims to strengthen the production of cardamom, cumin, and turmeric in four states of India - Kerala Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Rajasthan - to increase the capacities of spice farmers to make production practices more economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable.

The project is part of the develoPPP.de Programme implemented by GIZ on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The lead executing agency for this project is AVT McCormick. develop.PPP was set up by BMZ to involve the private sector in areas where business opportunities and development policy initiatives overlap. Read More

For more information contact: biodiv.india@giz.de