What is PGS?
Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) is a quality assurance initiative that is locally relevant, emphasize the participation of stakeholders, including producers and consumers and operate outside the frame of third party certification.

As per IFOAM (2008) definition "Participatory Guarantee Systems are locally focused quality assurance systems. They certify producers based on active participation of stakeholders and are built on a foundation of trust, social networks and knowledge exchange”.

What are advantages of PGS over third party certification?
Important advantages of PGS-India over third party certification system are as follows:

• The procedures are simple; documents are basic and use the local language understandable to farmers.
• All the members are local and known to each other. Being themselves practicing organic farmers have high degree of understanding on day-to-day knowledge or acquaintance of the farm.
• Peer appraisers are among the group and live in the same village, therefore have better access to surveillance
• Peer appraisal instead of third party inspections reduces cost
• Mutual recognition and support between Regional PGS groups ensures better networking for processing and marketing.
• Empowers farmers with increased capacity building
• Bring consumers to the farm without the need of middleman
• Unlike grower group certification system of third party, PGS offer every farmer with individual certificate and each farmer is free to market its own produce independent of group.
• Consumers and buyers are often involved in production and verification process
• Random residue testing at regular intervals ensures the integrity, quality assurance and increases the trust.

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