LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – In support to the promotion of the Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) which is the key feature of the RA 11511, an act amending the Organic Agriculture Act of 2010 or RA 10068, the Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Standards (BAFS) in coordination with the Department of Agriculture-Cordillera Administrative Region (DA-CAR) conducted a pre-inspection activity of the 14 applicants (8 from La Trinidad and 6 from Itogon) for the PGS as an Organic Certifying Body (OCB) on July 18-22, 2022 in La Trinidad and Itogon, Benguet.
The pre-inspection activity is one of the step-by-step procedures to be undertaken by an organic farmer or an applicant before qualifying to become one of the five (5) core group members of a PGS-OCB. This activity is also to provide technical assistance in preparation for the inspection proper. Only five members will be qualified for each PGS core group.
After the pre-inspection, inspection proper will be conducted for the five selected organic farmers for each group before undergoing certification and finally to accreditation. Another team from the DA-BAFS will be in charge of the inspection proper.
Moreover, another pre-inspection activity for seven (7) organic farmers will be conducted in Mountain Province this week. This will be conducted by the BAFS, Regional Organic Agriculture Program (ROAP), and DA-CAR Regulatory Division in coordination with the Municipal Agriculture Office.
PGS is a locally focused quality assurance system of organic products certification that small farmers can afford, and which provides access to healthy and safe farm products. As an alternative to third-party certification, the PGS plays a vital role in rural development and farmer empowerment through the active engagement of farmers in the whole process of verification, decision-making, and marketing.
An accredited PGS Group can perform inspection and certification activities for other farmers within their group. Its responsibility is to verify that product sold or labeled as ‘organic’ is produced, processed, prepared, or handled according to the relevant guidelines.//LDM
