Annexure - I

Organic Farming - Guidelines for spice crops

1. Objectives
To produce healthy nutritious and quality food To encourage and enhance biological cycles involving micro organisms, soil flora and fauna, plants and animals. To maintain and enhance long term fertility of soil. To help in soil and water conservation To maintain genetic diversity To minimise all forms of pollution that may result from agricultural practices To use on farm resources as far as possible To preserve and enhance traditional and indigenous knowledge in farming, seeds and varieties To conserve social and ecological impact of farming systems

2. Scope
Organic farming helps in rejuvenating the degraded soil and ensure sustainability of crop production. Common man and farmers are aware of the hazards from the use of chemicals and pesticides. Now the consumers are preferring to consume natural / ethnic foods, particularly organic foods across the world. day by day. Moreover, they are ready to pay a premium price for such foods. The demand for organic agricultural products is increasing

3. Minimum requirements
In organic farming system, certain minimum requirements are to be met to fulfill its objectives. and to certify the product as organic.

3.1 Conversion
When a farmer switches over to the system of organic farming from the conventional system of farming, it is known as conversion. The time between the start of organic The farmer should have a management and certification is called conversion period.

conversion plan prepared if the entire field is not converted into organic at a time. In that case, it is necessary to maintain organic and non-organic fields separately. In the long run,

the entire farm including livestock should be converted into organic. The conversion period is decided based on the past use of the land and ecological situation. Generally, the conversion period is two years for annual crop and three years for perennial crops. However, the conversion period can be relaxed based on the verification by certification agency if the requirements are fully met. During conversion, steps should be taken to maintain bio diversity, viz., swamps, grass lands, forest, etc.

3.2 Mixed Farming

Animal husbandry, poultry, fisheries, etc. should be practiced in addition to agricultural farming. Shifting cultivation is not allowed.

3.3 Cropping pattern

Crop rotation should be followed if annual crops are grown. Inter-cropping should be practiced when perennial crops are grown. Crop rotation should cover green manure as well as fodder crops. In case of perennial crops, cover crops like Kolinji should be grown to protect the soil. Mono cropping should be avoided.

3.4 Planting
Species and varieties cultivated should be adapted to soil and climatic conditions and resistant to pests and diseases. Seeds / planting material should be procured from organic sources. If not available, chemically untreated seeds / planting material can be used one time. Use of genetically engineered seeds, pollen, transgenic plants or plant material is not allowed.

3.5 Manurial Policy

Soil fertility should be maintained / enhanced through raising green manure crops, leguminous crops, etc. The residues of plants after harvest should be incorporated into the soil as far as possible. Bio degradable materials of microbial, plant or animal origin shall be applied as manures. (eg., compost, vermi compost, farmyard manure, sheep droppings, etc.). Use of synthetic / chemical fertilisers is not permitted. The mineral based materials like rock phosphate, gypsum, lime, etc. can be applied in limited quantities when there is absolute necessity.

The following products are permitted for use in manuring / soil conditioning in organic fields. Farm yard manure, slurry, green manures, crop residues, straw and other mulches from own farm Sawdust, wood shaving from untreated wood Calcium chloride, lime stone, gypsum and chalk Magnesium rock Sodium chloride Bacterial preparations (bio fertilisers) eg., azospirillun, rhizobium Bio dynamic preparations Plant preparation and extracts eg., neem cake Vermi compost

The following products shall be used when they are absolutely needed and taking into consideration of factors like contamination, depletion of natural resources, nutritional imbalances, etc. If proposing for certification, the certification agency may be consulted before using these inputs. Farm yard manure, slurry, urine, straw, etc. from other farms Blood meal, bone meal, fish meal without preservatives Minerals like basic slag, sulphate of potash, etc. Trace elements Wood ash from untreated woods Vermi compost from other farms

3.6 Pest, disease and weed management

Use of synthetic / chemical pesticide, fungicides and weedicides is prohibited. Natural enemies shall be encouraged and protected. (for e.g. raising trees in the farm attracts birds which kills pests of the crop, nest construction, etc.) Products collected from the local farm, animals, plants and micro organisms and prepared at the farm are allowed for control for pests and diseases (e.g. Neem Seed Kernel Extract, cow urine spray). Use of genetically engineered organisms and products are prohibited for controlling pests and diseases. Similarly, use of synthetic growth regulators in not permitted.

Slash weeding is to be done between the plants. Weeds under the base of the plants shall be cleaned and put as mulch around the plant base. The weeded materials should be applied as much in the ground itself. The products that are permitted for control of pests and diseases are : Neem oil and other neem preparations like Neem Seed Kernel Extract Chromatic traps Mechanical traps Pheromone traps Plant based repellents Soft soap Clay

The following products shall be used when they are absolutely necessary and taking environmental impact into consideration. The certification agency shall be consulted before using these inputs. Copper salts e.g. Bordeaux Mixture Plant and animal preparations e.g. Cow urine spray, Garlic extract, Chilly extract Light mineral oils e.g. Kerosene Release of parasite predator of insect pest e.g. Trichogramma Sulphur Tobacco Tea Viral, fungal and bacterial preparations (bio pesticides) e.g. NPV, Trichoderma, etc.

3.7 Soil and water conservation

Measures like stone pitching / contour wall construction are to be taken up to prevent soil erosion. In the case of saline soils, saline resistant varieties may be grown. Judicious irrigation is to be practiced. Mulching is required. Pollution of surface and ground water shall be prevented. Clearing of primary forest is prohibited. Cleaning of land through straw burning should be restricted to minimum.

3.8 Contamination control

It is necessary take the following measures to minimise the contamination from outside and within farm.

a. If neighbouring fields are non-organic, a buffer zone should be maintained. The height
of buffer crop shall be twice the height of organic crop and the width of the buffer shall be 25 - 50 feet. The crops from the buffer zone should be sold as non-organic.

b. If the farm is under conversion, equipments used for conventional areas shall be well
cleaned before using for organic areas.

c. Products based on polythene, polypropylene and other poly carbonates are allowed to
cover protective structure, insect netting, nursery, drying etc., subject to the condition that these materials shall be removed from the field after use and they shall not be burnt or put in the soil.

3.9 Processing
Processing technologies like solar drying, freeze drying, hot air chambers are permitted. Irradiation of agricultural produce is not permitted. No synthetic additives / dyes are to be added during processing.

3.10 Labelling
The label should convey clear accurate information on the organic status of the product. (i.e., conversion in progress or organic). The labels for organic and conversion in progress products should be distinguishable by different coloured labels. The details like name of the product, quantity of the product, name and address of the producer, name of certification agency, certification, lot number, etc. are to be given in the label. Lot number is helpful in tracing back the product particularly the field number in which it is grown in case of contamination. Lot number should include the crop, country, field number, date of harvest (in Julian calendar) and production year. The Julian calendar is ranging from 1 - 365 or 366, starting 1st January as one and December 31 as 365 / 366.

3.11 Packaging
For packaging, recycled and reusable materials like clean jute bags, shall be used. Use of bio degradable materials shall also be used. Unnecessary packaging material should be avoided. Organic and non-organic products shall not be stored and transported together.

3.12 Social Justice

Social right and justice are integral part of organic agriculture. The laws relating to labour welfare and rights of children should be honoured. All employees and their families should have access to potable water, food, housing, education, transportation and health services. All employees should have equal wages when doing the same job. They must have equal opportunities irrespective of colour, creed and gender. Social security needs should be met. Labour conditions regarding noise, dust, light and exposure to chemicals should be within the acceptable limits and they should have adequate protection. The rights of indigenous people should be respected.

3.13 Documentation
Documentation of farm activities is a must for acquiring certification especially when both conventional and organic crops are raised. The following documents / records are to be maintained.

a. Field map b. Field history sheet c. Activity register d. Input record e. Output record f. Harvest record g. Storage record h. Sales record i. Pest control records j. Movement record k. Equipments cleaning record l. Labelling records

4. Certification process
4.1 Organic Certification
Certification of organic farms is required to satisfy the consumers that the produce is totally organic. The Certification agency conducts inspection to ensure that the minimum requirements prescribed for organic agriculture is fully met and based on that issues the certificate. The producer makes contact with certifying agency. Certification agency provides information on standards, fees, application, inspection, certification and appeal procedures. The producer then submits application along with field history, farm map, record keeping system etc. Then the contract indicating scope, obligation, inspection and certification, sanction and appeals, duration, fee structure is executed. Then the Inspector of agency comes and carries out inspection. The Inspector gives inspection report with his recommendation to the agency, Then the agency issues approval or denial of certificate. Certificate is given for current year's harvest only and hence annual certification is required.

4.2 Process of certification

4.2.1 Certification of Large holder (4 ha and > 4 ha) : Inspection of individual farmer is directly conducted by certification agency in each crop cycle. After evaluation, if production process is found in compliance with organic standards, certificate issued in the name of the individual farmer. Individual farmers pay certification cost to the certification agency.

4.2.2 Certification of Small holder (< 4 ha) : Majority of the agriculture practitioners world wide are smallholders. They are often located in remote areas envisaging long travel from one place to another. The overall revenue from their agricultural production is usually far to small to cover the cost of farm inspection by external inspection body for each farmer. For these reasons a technique that is called Internal Control Systems (ICS) is developed for certification of small holder in the form of Group certification on low cost.

4.3 Internal Control Systems (ICS) for Group Certification

An Internal Control System (ICS) is a documented quality assurance system that allows the external certification body to delegate the annual inspection of individual group members to an identified body/unit with the certified operator. This means that the third party certification bodies only have to inspect the well-functioning of the system, as well as perform a few spot-checks, re-inspections of individual smallholders. However, for Smallholder Group Certification there should be homogenity of members in terms of location, production system, size of holding, etc. In principle, only small farmers (< 4 ha) are eligible for group certification, however large farmers (4 ha and > 4 ha) can belong to the group but must always be inspected externally each year and the total area of such farmers must be less than 50% of the total area of the group.

4.4 Steps of Group Certification

i. Formation of Group ii. Documentation of farm Activities iii. Conduct Internal Inspection and Submit Inspection Report to ICS Coordinator iv. Evaluation of Internal Inspection Report by ICS Coordinator. v. Approval of ICS findings from Approval Committee. vi. Invitation to external inspection agency for external inspection.

4.5 External Inspection

During the external inspection by the organic certifier, the effectiveness of the internal control system is evaluated. of risk assessment. The external inspector re-inspects a certain number of farmers. The percentage of external control will be determined by the certifier on the basis The external inspector compares his/her observations with the documents of the internal inspection and evaluates whether the internal inspections fulfill the external regulations and if they are satisfactory then the organic certification is provided. Source : Spices Board & NPOP