​About PGS

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Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) is a quality assurance initiative that is locally relevant, emphasize the participation of stakeholders, including producers and consumers and operate outside the frame work of third party certification. As per IFOAM (2008) definition "Participatory Guarantee Systems are locally focused quality assurance systems. They certify producers based on active participation of stakeholders and are built on a foundation of trust, social networks and knowledge exchange”. PGS is a process in which people in similar situations (in this case small holder producers) assess, inspect and verify the production practices of each other and take decision on organic certification (PGS-Green and PGS Organic ).
 
Advantages of PGS over third party certification system
In PGS organic farmers have full control over the certification process and are able to produce far more credible and effective system of quality assurance compared to third party certification. Important benefits of this system over third party certification system are as follows:
  1. The procedures are simple; documents are basic and use the local language
    understandable to farmers.
  2. All the members are local and known to each other. Being themselves practicing organic farmers have high degree of understanding on day-to-day knowledge or acquaintance of the farm.
  3. Peer appraisers are among the group and live in the same village, therefore have better
    access to surveillance 
  4. Peer appraisal instead of third party inspections reduces cost
  5. Mutual recognition and support between Regional PGS groups ensures better networking for processing and marketing.
  6. Empowers farmers with increased capacity building
  7. Bring consumers to the farm without the need of middleman
  8. Unlike grower group certification system, PGS offer every farmer with individual certificate and each farmer is free to market its own produce independent of group.
  9. Consumers and buyers are often involved in production and verification process
  10. Random residue testing at regular intervals ensures the integrity and increases the
    trust.


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Logos used in Participatory Guarantee System

​Logo Used while marketing on the products produced from the field under conversion

​Logo Used while marketing on the products produced from fields of completely converted into organic

Accreditation

CERTIFICATE OF AUTHORIZARTION
File Size: 543 kb
File Type: jpg
Download File

Downloads

PGS INDIA OPERATIONAL MANUAL HINDI
File Size: 387 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File
PGS INDIA OPERATIONAL MANUAL ENGLISH
File Size: 1299 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Contacts 

PGS Regional Council Central Team
 
1.         Ajay Kumar Tripathi
            Project Director
            9915195061
            ajayk61@gmial.com
 
2.         Rajeev Kohli
            Director Marketing
            70871-07163
            rajeevsays@gmail.com
 
3.         Gurpreet Singh
             Associate Director, Training
             9915195062
             gurpreet.kvm@gmail.com
 
4.         Jagtar Singh
            Assistant Director Training
            7087107166
            jagtarecologist@gmail.com
 
5.         Mridul Gupta
            Project Coordinator RC-PGS
            947839852
            mridul.gupta68@gmail.com
 
6.         Gurpreet Singh
            Technical Support Executive RC-PGS
            9815738096
            gurpretsingh868@gmail.com 

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