Must Organic certification fundamentally change for an Organic World?

Summary in the original language of the document

Organic guarantee systems have evolved drastically in the past, accompanying changes in the uptake of Organic agriculture. From an originally fully stakeholder-driven and participatory process in the '70s and '80s, organic certification has become increasingly formalized and government-controlled. organic certification is a must-have for organic market access in more and more countries in the world, but is often not seen by producers to add much value beyond that. It claims to bring transparency and trust to the consumers, but it also delegates the judgment of agricultural practices to more or less anonymous entities. Certification is not designed to prevent fraud but it is expected to control and detect it. Organic certification and regulations are supposed to be tools to develop organic markets but at the same time create barriers to organic trade. Requirements for organic certification are continuously increasing and becoming more complex, yet organic certification is not seen as more reliable than it was a decade ago. Finally, standard setters are torn between the society's expectation that organic certification cover a wider range of sustainability topics, and the fear that more onerous requirements will inhibit conversion to Organic. All these paradoxes are becoming increasingly apparent as the organic movement reflects on how to scale up Organic Agriculture from a niche to the mainstream way of farming.