FAQ's
The National Programme for Organic Production is a programme of the Government of India which provides an institutional mechanism for implementation of the National Standards for Organic Production.
The National Standards for Organic Production set out the standards to be followed in the cultivation, harvest, production, processing and trading of organic products.
Conventional farming, also known as industrial agriculture, refers to farming systems which include the use of synthetic chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and other continual inputs, genetically modified organisms, Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, heavy irrigation, intensive tillage, or concentrated monoculture production.
Organic Agriculture is a production system that sustains the health of soils, ecosystems, and people. It relies on ecological processes, biodiversity and cycles adapted to local conditions, rather than the use of inputs with adverse effects. Organic Agriculture combines tradition, innovation, and science to benefit the shared environment and promote fair relationships and good quality of life for all involved.
Certified organic means that organic product has been certified by an accredited certification agency and the product has been produced and /processed according to National/or International standard for organic production.
The time between the start of organic management and the certification of crops as organic. The start of the Conversion Period may be calculated from the date of first inspection of the Operator by the Certification Body.
Conversion is the transition of a production unit from Conventional Farming to Organic Production within the prescribed Conversion Period, during which the requirements of NPOP shall apply.
Inspection shall include the site visit of, including but not limited, to farm, processing and/or trading unit, to verify that the performance of an Operator is in accordance with the production, processing and chain of custody requirements as prescribed under the NPOP.
Parallel production is the simultaneous production/processing/handling of crop(s) or product(s) in organic and non-organic systems of visually indistinguishable crops/ products.
Shall be when part of a conventional farm or unit has already been converted to organic production or processing and a part is in the process of conversion.
The Accredited Certification Bodies is responsible for certifying the Organic Food.
Complete traceability (Farm to Consumer) is maintained for the products certified in accordance with NPOP standards.
Yes, NPOP has issued the guidelines.
Organic certificate remains valid for only one year. It has to be renewed every year.
Minimum one announced inspection shall be done in a year. Additional/Unannounced inspection can be conducted as if required necessary.
Each Grower Group shall have an internal control system consisting of farmers who are members of such Grower Group, and such Internal Control System shall ensure that all requirements under the NPOP and NPOP Procedures are met by each member of such Grower Group.
The Transaction Certificate or TC is a certificate issued by a Certification Body to its Operator for every transaction of sale of organic products under NPOP. TCs are issued by a Certification Body upon verification of documents submitted by an Operator to ensure transparency in operations and traceability of organic product in the supply chain.