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Standards developments and promotion
One of the main objectives of NOGAMU is to increase the application of organic and other standards and to promote certification production in Uganda.
In 2002 NOGAMU spear headed the development of a certification programme in Uganda comprising of;
To date a local standard (UOS) has been established and is operational and a local certification company Ugocert has been registered and is offering local and international certification services. Ugocert is also in final stages of attaining international accreditation by the International Organic Accreditation Services (IOAS).
NOGAMU has also been instrumental in the development of a harmonized East African Organic Products Standards (EAOPS) that has been launched by the East African community after a long consultative process involving stake holders in the private and public sector in the East Africa.
The EAOPS together with the East African Organic Mark will serve as a promotional tool and image the organic in the region and will enhance trading opportunities across the region. The East African mark has already registered in the 5 East Africa countries of Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi and Rwanda by the organic movements. In addition to third party certification NOGAMU in collaboration with International Federation of Organic Agriculture (IFOAM) is developing and pioneering other verification systems such as Participatory Guarantee Systems with the aim of boosting domestic and regional marketing of organic products in East Africa.
Standards related services offered by NOGAMU
NOGAMU under takes promotion of standards among different stake holders at various levels in the organic sectors these include producers, processors exporters and other stake holders. This process is achieved through programmes organized through mass media and training, information materials distributed to members and the public.
NOGAMU also provides a number of other services in other areas such as training aimed at building capacity and compliance levels to applicable standards among producer and exporter groups, these services include;
- Assisting farmers groups to develop and implement internal Control Systems (ICS)
- Assisting producer groups and companies to develop multi quality Internal Quality Management (IQM) systems.
- Provision of consultancy services to members and the general public in the areas of IQM /ICS design and establishment, in training and certification.
- Translation of standards into local languages
NOGAMU also offers services in other such as training and assisting groups in complying with other related standards such as Fair Trade, Utz and HACCP.
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