Smallholder groups have been certified on the basis of internal control systems for many years. The requirements regarding their certification and Internal Control Systems (ICS) have differed considerably over the last years between different certifiers and between different import authorities. In November 2003, the EU Commission published the "Guidance Document for the Evaluation of the Equivalence of Organic Producer Group Certification Schemes Applied in Developing Countries", which formally outlines some principles of an Internal Control System, and also defines the necessary minimum external control rates.
The IFOAM Training Kit: "Smallholder Group Certification - Training Curriculum on the Evaluation of Internal Control Systems - A Training Course for Organic Inspectors and Certification Personnel", provides trainers with the information and the training materials necessary to organize training on ICS for inspectors and certification body staff...
The ICS Inspectors' Training Kit encompasses:
- The training manual for trainers, entitled 'Training Curriculum on the Evaluation of Internal Control Systems: A Training Course for Organic Inspectors and Certification Personnel' in PDF version
- The 2 guidance manuals for trainees:
- The guidance manual for Inspectors entitled 'Guiding Documents for Organic Inspectors and Certification Personnel on the Evaluation of Internal Control Systems', and
- The guidance manual for producers entitled 'Guidance Manual for producer Organizations' in PDF version
- The training slides in Power point & PDF version.
This manual is also available in Chinese, Spanish, French.
Questions or comments? Contact the Platform Coordinator
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