Month: August 2008

In a forum last 6 August at the NTFP-EP Manila office, Mathew John of Keystone Foundation shared Keystone’s experiences on developing Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) in India to an audience of Philippine NGOs.

PGS is a way bringing in a large number of farmers and NTFP collectors into the organic fold who have not been able to access the third party systems of being certified organic. It is a response to the bureaucratic and expensive systems that exist. Today, thousands of farmers around the world have devised systems that are simple, transparent and adhere to the basic principles of organic agriculture

Mathew John has been working on the marketing of green products from rural and indigenous producers for over 15 years, and is part of the International Task Force of IFOAM on PGS.

With the relative success of NTFP-based enterprises of NTFP-EP partners such Keystone in India, the CustomMade Crafts Center in the Philippines and the JMHI honey network in Indonesia, there are many models of community-based enterprises to draw lessons from. With requests for partners for training, strategy support, mentoring and coaching for enterprise initiatives, the NTFP-EP held its first enterprise training for partners last 4-8 August in Rizal, Philippines.

The entire training was hands-on and let the participants assess their own enterprises, prepare broad strategic intervention strategies, and prepare a simple business plan. Resource persons included Arlynn Aquino, Rene Guarin of UMFI, Mathew John of Keystone and Irfansyah of Swiss Contact. In the long-term, NTFP-EP hopes to provide primary enterprise mentoring to NGOs and community partners through this start-up group.

The Forum on Biodiversity Conservation in the South of Vietnam took place on 2 August in Saigon. The forum, hosted by CBD, for the first time brought together representatives from 15 protected areas in the South, as well as other biodiversity supporters, including Amy Maling of WWF Mondulkiri (Cambodia) and Jenne de Beer of NTFP-EP. A fruitful sharing of experiences took place, which towards the end of the day focused on the role of NTFPs and eco-tourism in biodiversity conservation.

Prominent member of the Council of the Vietnam Association for Conservation and Environment, Professor Doanh Canh, concluded the discussion by saying that the link between NTFP development and the involvement of local communities in the conservation effort is very direct. However, the speaker added, in order to further motivate those communities, there should be much more attention on their long-term security of access to NTFP resources. {Jenne de Beer, Luu Hong Truong}

Learn more about Participatory Guarantee Systems
from Mathew John of the Keystone Foundation, India
on 6 August 2008, 3:00 pm
NTFP-EP Office, 92-A Masikap Extension, Barangay Central, Diliman, Quezon City

Our Resource Person:
Mathew John is a founding member of Keystone Foundation, a group for Eco-development Initiatives based in Kotagiri, Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu, India. He has been working on the marketing of green products from rural and indigenous producers for over 15 years. In search for an assurance system that would be appropriate for their community partners working in local, domestic markets, Keystone has been actively supporting and developing Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS). PGS ensure organic quality in cooperation with farmers and consumers through the sharing of knowledge and responsibilities. Mathew John is part of the International Task Force of IFOAM on PGS. IFOAM is the international umbrella organization of organic agriculture movements worldwide. He is also a member of the PGS Organic India Council.

Organic Agriculture is a holistic production management system which enhances agro-ecosystem health, utilizing both traditional and scientific knowledge. Organic Agricultural systems rely on ecosystem management rather than external agricul¬tural inputs.

Often third party, ISO certification is a more well-known method that provides assurance of organic quality to consumers. Third party certification, however, may not fit all circumstances. Third party certification is mainly useful for markets that are sensitive to certification seals/labels (often export markets). But certification procedures come at costs that could heavily burden small producers. Alternative assurance systems, therefore, may be needed, especially for robust and growing domestic markets; systems which would be more appropriate for smallholders who produce relatively low volumes of different crops.

Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) are also internationally recognized and already serve thousands of farmers and consumers around the world. Participatory Guarantee Systems are based on recognized and publicly available standards for organic practice. Often they are based on the IFOAM Basic Standards and include reference to social justice norms. To verify that farmers are consistently maintaining the standards, systemized processes are in place. PGS support and encourage producer groups to work together to improve their farming practices through the sharing of knowledge and experiences.

• PGS works on the principles of transparency and horizontality. The guarantee system is created by the very farmers and consumers it serves, encouraging and sometimes requiring direct participation of farmers and consumers. Trust is created through open information and peer reviews.

• PGS is regionally appropriate as these systems are specific to individual communities, geographic areas, cultural environments, and markets. It involves less administration and lower costs than export focused third party certification.

• PGS supports local economies and can be used as a tool for improving local socio-economic and ecological conditions by encouraging small-scale production and product processing. In local markets they help smallholders to have their products recognized as organic. Networks between consumers and smallholders are enhanced and the impetus for smallholders to expand their production base is reinforced.

If you would like to attend, please contact us at:
Non-Timber Forest Products Exchange Programme for South and Southeast Asia
92-A Masikap Extension, Barangay Central, Diliman, Quezon City
Tel. +63 2 920.4201 Telefax: +63 2 426.2757 Email: info@ntfp.org