Organic Standards and Certification
	In Africa, most certified organic production is geared towards export markets. For export, most African countries are reliant upon foreign standards. To date, the largest part of certified organic production has been certified according to the EU regulation for organic products. Local markets for organic produce need therefore to be developed, if organic farming is really asserting itself in the long term. IFOAM therefore works on the Participatory Guarantee Systems and the Group Certification/ Internal Control Systems for small farmer groups to reduce verification costs and to develop conformity assessment mechanisms that are accessible for smallholders. The vision is to encourage smallholders to become or remain organic. For the domestic markets, African countries are reliant upon national standards. Some existing African organic standards are listed below: List of certification bodies operating in Africa East African Organic Products Standard, English East African Organic Products Standard, French Development of a Regional Organic Agriculture Standard In East Africa Afrisco Organic Standards PGS in East Africa, English PGS in East Africa, French
	IFOAM - International Federation of Organic Agriculture | info@ifoam.org