Chhattisgarh Forest Department

NWFP Certification

He also suggested the sustainable management certification process. 

• Mechanisms for equitable sharing benefits as perceived fair by local community groups, adapted to changing socio-economic conditions.  

• If traditional knowledge is used to develop marketable organic products, informed consent must be received.  

• Dependence on extensive collection to be decreased by allowing working plans to include production of high value MAPs.  

Dr. Madhav Karki further stated the certification requirements as listed below:  

• Forest management operations and processing activities need to be benign to environment.  

• Collectors and small scale growers need to be organized as an SM enterprises.

• NGOs and SMEs should facilitate organic and certified production.  

Dr. Karki also proposed the process for organic production:  

• Develop community based micro and small enterprises for the production, processing and certification.  

• Develop organic production methods and improve traditional cultivation/collection for sustainble production of products.  

• Examine existing and develop internationally accepted local standards.  

• Identify potential national and international markets.  

Dr. Karki also emphasized on the need for training and capacity building.  

• Build capacity of local NGOs, CBOs and collectors and growers.  

• Create a national and regional network or researchers, extensionists, producers, processors and traders.

• Develop partnership with private sectors and government/NGOs.

As an expert, Dr. Karki suggested that there was a need and opportunity to turn the comparative advantage into competitive advantage:  

• Understand competitors' strategy and structure of production.  

• Understand demand conditions and government policies/regulations.

• Improve factors of productions including economy of scale.  

• Build synergy and complentarity.  

• Factor-in randam effects/risks such as crop failure by building in buffers. 

Dr. Karki remarked that the South-Asian countries have natural advantage to produce organic MAPs that can improve their income. However, there was a need to redesign the production and supply-chain systems with economic incentives and institutional innovation.

 Dr. Karki concluded his session by stating that organic production and marketing enterprises developed and facilitated by CBOs/NGOs and co-owned by farmers have good potential to succeed. And the best option may be the farmers, collectors, producing, NGOs facilitating and Government organizations over sighting. Any certification should be supported by accreditation and validation. Chhattisgarh enjoys comparative advantages with regard to certain species and it should restrain from focusing on same species as picked by other states.