CFGS (Caritas’ Farmers Guarantee System): A participatory guarantee system of the Caritas Dalat farmers' network

CFGS is a local system focused on quality assurance.

Producers are certified based on the active participation of stakeholders. The system is built on trust, social networks, and knowledge exchange.

CHARACTERISTICS OF CFGS

  • Provides a reliable (practical) guarantee
  • Low cost, highly suitable for smallholder farmers
  • Peer monitoring instead of professional third-party certification (decentralized and participatory)
  • Social control as a compliance verification mechanism (transparency)
  • Farmers are organized and connected into a network
  • Opportunities for capacity building and participation in a continuous, shared learning process
  • Minimizes paperwork to the lowest level

CORE ELEMENTS

Participation

  • Key stakeholders (producers, consumers, retailers, traders, and others such as NGOs) participate in the initial design.
  • In the operation of CFGS, stakeholders (including producers) participate in making essential decisions regarding CFGS operations.
  • Integrating producers and consumers: builds credibility for CFGS and expands market opportunities.
  • Consumers can share in the management of CFGS, provide expertise in CFGS administration, and also play a supportive role in the peer review process (internal inspection).
  • Through participation, consumers recognize the value of organic food and gladly pay a fair price for the products.

Shared Vision

  • The vision can target organic production or goals related to standards, social justice, fair trade, respect for the ecosystem, local community autonomy, cultural diversity, etc.
  • “Everyone has the right to know what they are eating... we rarely do it alone, but together, in cooperation, we can build something stronger and larger” - ECOVIDA
  • Each stakeholder organization can adopt the shared vision as part of their own organization.
  • By producing organic products and by consuming organic products.
  • The vision can be connected to consumers through public labeling at points of sale.

Transparency:

  • The system has clear operating mechanisms and documentation.
  • Public access to PGS documents and information:
  • List of certified producers
  • Details of their farms and non-compliance actions.
  • Sharing information at meetings and workshops
  • Participating in internal inspections (peer reviews)
  • Participating in decision-making.

Trust

  • Producer commitment
  • Group commitment (written and verbal)
  • In PGS, farmers, consumers, traders, technicians, etc., have the capacity to perform their work responsibly and reliably.

Horizontality

  • Sharing and rotating responsibilities among members;
  • Producers directly participate in peer reviews of other fields (cross-inspection).
  • Transparency in the decision-making process.

Learning Process

  • Among the stakeholders in the system, producers—who are smallholder farmers—also participate in a structured, continuous learning process that helps them deepen their knowledge and improve their practices. This process is often facilitated by Caritas Dalat.
  • Farmers participate in training workshops, field trips, and hands-on practice, encouraged by group members.
  • Farmers are also connected with various partners, customers, groups, organizations, and relevant individuals. These connections enrich and expand their learning capacities and opportunities.
WHAT IS CFGS.pdf (111.72 KB)