Chhattisgarh Forest Department

NWFP Certification

Who should consider accepting the Certification program?

 Group A – Producers and Growers/ Farmer who:       

• Grow products organically;  

• Do not use chemical fertilizers, pesticides, or other chemicals or any hazardous materials.  

• Use green techniques in growing NWFP including medicinal, aromatic and dye plants;  

• Do not render harmful impacts on the areas adjoining their farmlands;  

• Do not exploit their laborers by any means.  

• Agree to meet other predetermined specifications referred by the buyers. 

Group B - Traders/marketing agencies (including Primary Forest Produce Cooperative Societies) that aim at: 

• Increasing the market value of their products by ensuring quality standards to consumers;  

• Providing assured and dependable product to the consumers by meeting ecological, economic and sociological sustainability of resources and community;  

• Creating goodwill and brand image in the market/society by acting in a socially, ecologically and economically responsible manner.  

Viability of the Process Certification

 In order to make the certification process viable, it should be:  

• Cost effective,

• Economically viable,  

• In harmony with trade regulations  

• Based on systems and performance,

• Socially and culturally acceptable,

• Practical, usable and useful, and,

• Focused on continual improvement.

Product certification involves declaring that the produce or product meets all the specified quality standards such as:  

• Physical specifications such as shape, form, color, odor of the produce.   

• Chemical composition (alkaloid contents/active ingredients in case of medicinal plants).  

• Grade of the produce.  

• Adequately dried / Moisture content etc.   

• Level of purity/impurity.  

The physical properties as well as the chemical compositions or the active ingredients are the key factors for the non-wood forest products and especially for the medicinal, aromatic and dye plants.

For the product certification, guidelines detailing physical and chemical specifications will be developed in keeping with the market demand. Since there is a wide spectrum of products derived from a single non-wood forest produce, it will be difficult to specify each product's standard based on its chemical and physical properties. Modalities will have to be developed accordingly, to maintain the highest level of quality standard.