Organic Framing

Internal Control System (ICS)

• As per IFOAM and NPOP definition, Internal Control System (ICS) is a documented quality assurance system that allows the external certification bodies to delegate the inspection of individual group members to a body identified from within the operators of the group.
• This can be legally recognised farmers association, cooperatives, NGOs or exporters, project or a farmer group.
• This means, in practice that a growers group basically controls all farmers for compliance with organic production rules according to defined procedures.
• The organic certification body then mainly evaluates whether the ICS is working well and efficiently.
• The ICS guards the integrity of the organic quality of the products particularly in smallholder projects.
• It is a system in which all persons dealing with products (grower, buyers and store keepers) are identified, registered, instructed on the requirement of organic certification and where large number of farmers are to be inspected by a foreign certification body, the involved cost can be very high.
• In such cases, smallholder group certification can be done. It is done for defined groups (may be upto 900 to 1000 farmers) with similar farming and production system located in geographical proximity.
• Only one application is required to certify the entire farms of such small holder group and the certification and inspection fee is shared by each individual farmer / operator.
• Contracted to ensure compliance. The activities of these persons are monitored by regular visits and documentary control. Besides this, the persons involved are made aware of their common responsibilities for the products, which imply certain social control.
• Developing countries are increasingly looking for ways to reduce certification costs and procedures in order to make certification more feasible for small farmers. ICS is an alternative scheme, which help group of small farmers to reduce costs and simplify procedures of internal inspection and certification.
• The external auditor can invariably insists on physical inspection of all individual holdings extending up to and above four hectares. It may also be noted that the number of units above four hectares should not exceed 50 per cent of the total area under the group certification.

Marginal Farmers	< 1 ha
Small Farmers	1 to 1.99 ha
Semi-Medium Farmers	2 to 3.99 ha
Medium Farmers	4 to 9.99 ha
Large Farmers	> 10 ha