EU regulatory update for group certification

In December, the European Commission published a proposal to revise Regulation 2018/848, which included changes related to group certification. While some improvements have been made, further amendments are needed.

The revision proposal addresses some of the challenges that were identified during the transition and implementation phase over the past years: The eligibility criteria for group certification based on the size of farmers' land holdings, organic turnover and characteristics of the legal entity.

More specifically, the European Commission proposes the following changes to the current regulation:

• Doubling the permissible farm size for group members to ten hectares for farmers, one hectare for greenhouse, and 30 hectares for permanent grassland.
• Deleting the restrictions regarding annual organic turnover (up to 25.000 €) and individual certification cost (more than two percent of the organic turnover).
• Extending the definition of a legal entity, accepting several subgroups as part of one legal entity, such as cooperative associations, cooperative unions or other forms of farmer organizations.

Naturland supports these proposed changes and at the same time suggests further technical amendments to facilitate the implementation of group certification for smallholder farmers.

Doubling the permissible farm size to ten hectares will enable more smallholder farmers to access the European market who would otherwise not be able to afford certification. This is in contrast to greenhouse production, a highly intensive cultivation, which should therefore remain to be restricted to 0.5 hectares.

The deletion of a fixed organic turnover limit is also welcome, as it has proved impractical due to rising costs, inflation and price fluctuations. However, we suggest reintroducing the two percent limit on the individual certification costs. Group certification is originally based on the idea of enabling market access for smallholder farmers who cannot afford individual certification. Farmers whose individual certification costs exceed two percent of their organic turnover should therefore be eligible for group certification. Reintroducing the two percent limit on certification costs would also benefit farmers whose landholding includes unproductive land or forest areas that do not generate any organic turnover. Furthermore, it provides a sensible restriction for beekeepers who are not covered by the limit to landholding.

The possibility of having subgroups within a single legal entity is an important improvement. It can reduce the need for complex restructuring, splitting of groups and excluding members, thus reducing administrative burden. However, ambiguity regarding the types of organisations permitted should be avoided. Given the European Commission’s general position on limiting group certification to farmer groups, it is therefore suggested that this be specified in the regulatory text.

Naturland also supports introducing a provision through secondary legislation that would allow adjustments to farm size and turnover. This would enable differentiated definitions of farm size or turnover, rather than fixed and inflexible limits, should this prove necessary.

The following table summarises the proposed regulatory text submitted to the European Commission by BÖLW, the German umbrella organisation for organic farming. It focuses on three amendments:

• reintroducing the two percent limit for certification costs;
• reducing the area for greenhouses to 0.5 hectares; and
• including a provision to adapt maximum land holding or turnover through secondary legislation.

The proposal for revision also addresses the recognition and labelling of imported products from countries recognized as equivalent, such as the United States and India: The period of recognition is extended to 31 December 2036. Above that, all imported goods produced under equivalent standards must meet certain additional requirements in accordance with a new Annex VII. This new Annex VII focuses on the ban of hydroponics, treatment of animals (no tethering/ isolation, no use of electric stimulation/ tranquillisers during transport) and the use of supplements for processed products. This revision affects producers in the United States, where production in hydroponic systems is common, for example. However, it currently has no effect for the majority of smallholder producer groups worldwide.

The feedback provided to the EU commission proposal will be fed into the further legislative debate in the upcoming weeks. The proposal is expected to be finalised and published within this year. For updates, stay connected with our newsletter.

Naturland welcomes all members and partners to share their feedback and opinions on this proposed revision of the EU organic regulation. If you have any questions, feedback or comments, please do not hesitate to reach out to your dedicated member support contact.

For general information about ICS, please check the Naturland ICS manual and the Naturland minimum requirements for ICS. 

You want to read more about ICS? Browse our other articles of the ICS series:

• How to do yield estimates
• What Naturland expects from your ICS
• Good practice for internal inspections
• The Naturland manual for group certification