What is CFGS?

CFGS (Caritas' Farmers Guarantee System): a system that ensures the participation of the network of Caritas Dalat farmers.

CFGS is a local system focused on quality assurance.

Producers are certified based on stakeholder involvement. The system is built on trust, social networks and knowledge exchange.

Features of CFGS

- Provides a reliable (real) guarantee

- Low cost, suitable for small farmers

- Peer monitoring (inspection) instead of third-party professional certification (decentralized and participatory)

- Social control as a compliance verification mechanism (transparency)

- Farmers are organized and connected to the network

- Opportunity to improve capacity, participate in the continuous sharing learning process

- Minimize paperwork.

Basic elements

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Participation

- Key stakeholders (manufacturers, consumers, retailers, traders, and others such as NGOs) were involved in the initial design.

- In PGS's activities, stakeholders (including manufacturers) participate in making essential decisions about PGS's activities.

- The integration of producers and consumers: create prestige for PGS and expand market opportunities.

- Consumers can share the work of PGS management, provide expertise in PGS management, and can also play a supporting role in the peer review process (internal testing)

Through participation, consumers acknowledge the value of organic food and happily pay the price for the product.

General vision

- The vision can target organic production or goals related to standards, social justice, fair trade, respect for the ecosystem, the autonomy of local communities, the cultural differences…

- “Everyone has the right to know what they are eating…we rarely do it alone, but together, in partnership, we can build something stronger and bigger” ECOVIDA.

- Each stakeholder organization can adopt a shared vision as part of its own organization.

- By producing organic products and by consuming organic products.

- Vision can be linked to consumers by public labeling at the sale centres.

Transparency

- The system has a clear and documented operating mechanism.

- Publicly accessible documents and information about PGS:

• List of certified manufacturers
• Details of their farm and non-compliance actions.

- Share information at meetings and seminars

- Participate in internal testing (peer review)

- Participate in decision making

Trust

- Manufacturer's commitment

- Team commitment (written and verbal)

- In PGS, farmers, consumers, traders, technicians, etc. are able to do their job and do it responsibly and reliably.

Peer

- Sharing and transferring responsibilities among members

- Producers directly participate in peer-review of other fields (cross-inspection)

- Transparency in the decision-making process.