News Excerpt:
The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), which oversees organic production and exports in the country, issued the draft National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP), 2024. It suggests introducing a unique identification (ID) for farmers interested in organic farming.
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- APEDA stated that the policy has been revised to align with international standards.
- Stakeholders and interested parties were given time until June 30 to provide their feedback.
- It also proposes increased penalties by accredited certifying bodies for violations and non-compliance with the norms.
Unique ID for Farmers
- Regarding the unique ID, the draft stipulates that farmers must register with the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare to receive their unique ID.
- This ID can then be submitted to the Internal Control System of a grower group for registration under NPOP.
- Upon successful verification and data transfer to the NPOP database, the subsequent registration process for the grower group will proceed.
- The draft NPOP allows growers to switch to another farmer group if they face issues or prefer not to continue with their current group.
Penalties for Violation
- The proposed penalties include a fine of ₹10 lakh for providing false information, up from ₹5 lakh, along with the termination of accreditation.
- Non-compliance with NPOP norms will incur a fine of ₹50 lakh, previously nil, and failing to update and verify data on Tracenet-Organic will result in a ₹25 lakh fine, up from ₹3 lakh.
- For subsequent offenses, the fine is ₹50 lakh, besides a bar on reapplying for accreditation for three years.
- For refusing to disclose information, the penalty is ₹5 lakh, while for non-confirmities established for the presence of residues in prohibited substances in a certified organic product, the fine is ₹25 lakh.
- For a repeat offence, the fine is ₹50 lakh, besides a ban of up to five years.
Way Forward:
- The trade analyst noted the absence of organic textile standards in the draft NPOP. The National Accreditation Body (NAB), which operates under APEDA, has a comprehensive mandate and should include these standards.
- The expert stressed that fraud in organic food can impact human health and called for the NPOP to include traceability from farm to fork, imprisonment clauses, and heavier fines rather than merely pecuniary penalties.
- The expert highlighted that the presence of APEDA Chairman in NAB is a “conflict of interest” and The most important missing aspect in the draft is the lack of proposal to imprison the defaulters as in countries like the US. These issues should be considered for better and nonpartisan implementation.
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Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA)
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