Establishing Local Certification Bodies In Developing and Transition Economies

Summary

There are certification bodies from Western countries offering their services all over the world providing efficient, reliable and qualified services. Nevertheless there are good arguments for establishing local certification bodies in developing and transition economies. FiBL has been cooperating with local certification bodies in South-Eastern Europe (Albinspekt in Albania, Balkan Biocert in Bulgaria and Macedonia, Ecoinspect in Romania) and Asia (Biocert in Indonesia, Indocert in India, LibanCert in Lebanon and OFDC in China). These certification bodies are part of the local organic movement either by a multiple ownership reflecting the sector or by involving the sector in committees. The following report describes the opportunities but also the challenges of setting up local organic certification bodies.