Organic certification and marketing

Although a large quantity of groundnut is produced for household consumption and domestic markets, there is growing interest in organic certified groundnut on export markets, especially in the EU and the USA. For marketing and labelling groundnuts and other agricultural products as organic, the products must be certified.

Organic certification

Certification is the process by which the inspection and certification body (CB) gives a written and reliably confirmed assurance that the products have been manufactured in accordance with a specific organic standard. Certification is crucial to building confidence among processors, distributors and consumers.

In Europe, the legal basis of organic agriculture are the EC Council Regulations 834/2007 and 899/2008, in the USA organic agriculture is regulated in the National Organic Program Regulation (NOP). These regulations define the rules for organic production, processing and labelling of agricultural products. Farmers in Malawi that wish to export organic products to the EU must comply with the European Regulation. For Export to the USA the NOP Standard must be respected.

In some cases markets ask for additional certification against private organic standards such as Naturland, Demeter or Bio Suisse. The standards from private label organisations are stricter than the EU or NOP regulations. Whereas the EU regulation permits organic farming of individual farm units, most private organic label organisations require that the entire farm must be managed organically. Organic production on part of a farm only, while the rest of the farm is still managed conventionally, involves risks of chemical residues on organic products and commingling of organically and conventionally produced products. Most private label organisations prohibit partial conversion of a farm. In the EU regulation partial conversion is subject to special restrictions and constraints.

Generally, for small farms, only conversion of the entire farm is recommended, as the farm unit would become too small to enable establishment of a diverse production system, allow proper crop rotation and introduction of livestock. Parallel production, i.e. the production of the same crop under organic and non-organic management, is not allowed even under the EU Regulation.

The certification process starts with signing a contract with an organic certification body operating in the country. The conversion begins once the farmer renounces the use of synthetic pesticides, fertilisers and GMO or treated seeds. The conversion period is accomplished after 2 years for annual crops and after 3 years for deciduous crops. Land that has not been treated with forbidden substances for at least 3 years can be certified with a reduced conversion period. Once the conversion period is finished, the products can be certified and sold as organic. A stepwise reduction of agrochemical use is not considered part of the conversion period.

Farmers in Malawi should first consult the national organic movement and then sign a certification contract with an accredited organic certification body operating within the country. Producers should work with a certification organisation that has the necessary accreditations for the required standard and target markets.

Organic certification commonly happens through inspection and certification of an individual farm by an accredited certification body. Also farmers can be certified as a group. Internal inspection for each farm in the group is then carried out by members of the group with the help of an Internal Control System (ICS). In the case of group certification, the certification body does not inspect all individual farmers of the group, but assesses the performance of the ICS and inspects only a small, but representative number of the farms. To determine the minimum number of farms to be inspected by the certification body, the square root of the total number of farms in a group is calculated, e. g. if the total number of farms is 100, then only 10 farms will be selected for inspection by the certification body. The selection of actual farms to be visited for the inspection takes into consideration the prevailing situation, e.g. proximity to contamination sites, physical location, and the potential influence from other external factors. For the inspection, the certification body assesses the functionality of the ICS and checks each selected farm using an existing inspection checklist.

Like all other organic products, organic certification for groundnut is worthwhile only if the groundnut can be marketed with an organic price premium over the regular price. The premium must at least cover the certification costs and the major costs caused by organic management. Ideally, most or all the crops from the certified farms are marketed with an organic premium. In the case of exporting a crop such as groundnut, the farmers need to work together in a group to produce enough volume and to ensure the quality and quantity requirements of the target market.

Having completed the formal conversion period and received organic certification does not mean that the development of the farm is finished. It usually takes several years to establish a well-balanced farm ecosystem and restore natural soil fertility in the sense of organic farming.

Aflasafe – biocontrol of Aflatoxins

Aflasafe is a biofungicide reported to significantly reduce pre-harvest aflatoxin contamination in groundnuts, maize and other crops by 80 to 90 per cent. Aflasafe was developed by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). Protection lasts beyond harvesting, which means that the crop will also be safe when stored. Following its successful commercial application in many sub-saharan countries, the Aflasafe MWMZ01 and Aflasafe MW02 have been tested and now cleared for release by the Agricultural Technical Clearing Committee (ATCC) in Malawi.

Aflasafe is listed as a permitted organic product in the Organic Materials
Review Institute (OMRI) as «Organic Aspergillus flavus AF36 Prevail» for use as a pest lure, repellent, or as part of a trap, or as a disease control. It may be used for other pesticidal purposes, if the requirements of 205.206(e) are met, which requires the use of preventive, mechanical, physical, and other pest, weed, and disease management practices.

The current listing from 28 May 2018 expires on 01 June 2020. The details of the listing can be found at: www.omri.org/acj-12443. Before using Aflasafe in organic management, producers should always check/consult their certification body or advisors, if the product can be used under the national and/or the importing country’s legislation whichever maybe applicable based on the target markets. Like any other organic inputs, the producers should also check, if such a product is still holding a valid and not expired listing or registration.

How does Aflasafe work?

The active ingredients of Aflasafe are native strains of Aspergillus flavus that do not produce aflatoxins, but out-compete the aflatoxin-producing strains so that crops become less contaminated. Spores of these strains are coated on to a grain carrier (e. g. sorghum) using a polymer sticker. When applied, Aflasafe non-poisonous strains grow rapidly on the grain carrier, which serves as their food. They produce spores and colonise organic matter in the field before moving to the target crops. This will prevent the aflatoxin-producing strains from colonising the groundnuts.

How to use Aflasafe

Apply Aflasafe in groundnut fields 30 to 45 days after planting, regardless of whether groundnuts are cultivated as monocrop or are intercropped with other crops. Application of Aflasafe when groundnut plants have already flowered will not be effective in reducing aflatoxin accumulation. Before Aflasafe application, ensure that all agronomic practices (weeding, last fertiliser application, etc.) have been completed. Ensure that Aflasafe is distributed uniformly in the field during application: broadcast the grains at the rate of 4 kg per acre. The beneficial strains of Aflasafe require moisture to grow, therefore apply Aflasafe after rains, when rains are expected or when the soil is wet.

Note: For certified organic production of groundnut, farmers need specific approval by the applicable certification body. It is therefore advisable that organic farmers inform their respective certification bodies before Aflasafe is applied to their fields.

More information about the product can be obtained from www.aflasafe.com

Marketing

One of the key motivations driving farmers to convert to organic farming is the ability to access niche markets for their produce or products. Even under subsistence farming, with adequate quantities of groundnut production, farmers should consider exploring market opportunities to sell the excess production to improve their incomes to meet other household needs. Before deciding on the market to target, if not already provided by the agents promoting organic farming, it is important to understand the requirements of that market in terms of the following aspects:

The type of customers and their product requirements,
The key actors, especially existing and potential competitors,
Information about delivery channels and cost of delivery,
Information about price offers and any premiums,
Bulking, storage and packaging requirements,
The required quantities, timeliness and consistence in delivery,
Quality requirements (varieties, etc.), particularly aflatoxin contamination limits,
Whether organic certification is required and for which standards,
Any value addition required to the products.

For more information on marketing of organic products, for example...

where to find relevant information about market opportunities, prices and quality requirements,
how the organic market chain is organised,
how to identify and take advantage of organic market opportunities,
how to identify market expectations in terms of quality, standards and know-how to cope with these standards,
how to assess the market potential of organic products,
how to develop a marketing concept, define a marketing strategy and apply marketing techniques,
how to promote organic market development beyond individual businesses,
how to determine usefulness of organic certification, and how to get access to it,

see the training materials related to marketing at www.organic-africa.net, including a trainer's module, a booklet and a video.

Group discussion on marketing of groundnut

Invite the farmers to discuss in groups the various options for marketing groundnuts to different markets and to share the results in the plenum.

Which markets demand organic groundnuts?
What are the requirements of those markets?
How can interested farmers be supported to join those markets?