This study is designed to draw up long-term improvement measures for the certification system of Environmentally-Friendly agricultural products. For the purpose, this study analyzed domestic and international certification systems and standards. Also, this study conducted a survey to collect opinions of producers and experts about Korean certification system.
Chapter 2 summarizes the characteristics of the Korean certification system for Korean Environmentally-Friendly agricultural products. A certification system is generally needed to solve the information asymmetry in the Environmentally-Friendly agricultural products. In fact, an open and above-board system increases consumer welfare. The certification system of environmentally-friendly agricultural products has been introduced since the enactment of the Environmentally-Friendly Agriculture Promotion Act in 1997 and has been revised twice since then. However, there are areas which still need to be improved in terms of system management and the system itself.
Chapter 3 shows the certification results of environmentally-friendly agricultural products and describes the survey results submitted by producers and experts. The chapter contains their opinions on the certification system of environmentally-friendly agricultural products certification system. The certification of environmentally-friendly agricultural products has grown rapidly since the 1990s. The portion of low chemicals in the certification results, in particular, hit 63% in 2006. Also, the imports of fresh organic agricultural produce which are raw materials for organic processed products have been increased.
The survey results show that experts have relatively high satisfaction with the classification system of certified produce(organic, no chemicals, and chemicals), the scope expansion of certification, the term of validity for a certification, and the notification system of the list of organic agricultural materials on the list; however, they have relatively low satisfaction with disunited systems and confusion with other quality indication systems. Second, the overall satisfaction of producers on the current system is lower than that of experts and it is also different among different production types-low chemicals, no chemicals, and organic. Organic producers have relatively low satisfaction on the revised certification system compared to low-chemical producers.
Chapter 4 introduces overseas organic standards and systems in terms of a certification standards, labeling, and management. The overseas cases include the cases of IFOAM, CODEX, the U.S., the EU, Japan, and Australia. The study compares the Korean standard and system with overseas standards and systems and points out differences among them to give an example for improving the Korean certification system.
Chapter 5 presents long-term measures to improve the Korean certification system for environmentally-friendly agricultural products to harmonize it with international systems and improve consumer confidence on the environmentally-friendly agriculture. First, the Environmentally- Friendly Agriculture Promotion Act and the Agricultural Products Processing Industry Promotion Act should be unified. Second, in terms of managing the system, 1) the operations of certification agencies should be clearly defined and separated, 2) the supervision system after the certification should be consolidated by ensuring the independence of inspectors and by refining their qualification requirements, of them, 3) the product differentiation should be induced in the market by introducing self-imposed certification fees among certification bodies, and 4) the current voluntary certification system for distributers and handlers should be changed to a mandatory system so that a consistent certification system that covers the varying stages of industrial cycle from the production to the processing and marketing of environmentally-friendly agricultural products could be established.
Researchers: Shin, Yong-Kwang and Hwang, Yun-Jae
E-mail Address: ykshin22@krei.re.kr, yjhwang@krei.re.kr