Exploring Opportunities to Increase the Synergy Between Participatory Guarantee Systems and Third-Party Certification in Organic Agriculture
IFOAM – Organics International conducted this study as part of its collaboration with FAO's Mountain Partnership. The collaboration aims to promote sustainable management of fragile ecosystems such as mountains and islands by supporting sustainable food systems. To collect data that fed into this study, expert interviews were conducted with various selected stakeholders who were involved in the research or implementation of Internal Control Systems (ICS) and Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) initiatives in different parts of the world.
It describes relevant existing cases that combine PGS and TPC (Third-Party Certification) with a focus on ICS for group certification and also explores the potential and opportunities for synergies and draws lessons learned and recommendations.
Under the same framework, IFOAM - Organics International also published a second study: The Gender-Sensitive Assessment on Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) in the Pacific Small Island Developing States (SIDS), that highlighted the need to strengthen the role of women and their potential in PGS initiatives.
