The organic market is confronted with hundreds of private sector standards and governmental regulations, two international standards for organic agriculture (Codex Alimentarius and IFOAM) and a host of conformity assessment and accreditation systems. Mutual recognition and equivalency among these systems is extremely limited. Discussions in a number of forums including FAO, IFOAM and UNCTAD, have indicated that the plethora of certification requirements and regulations are considered to be a major obstacle for a continuous and rapid development of the organic sector, especially for producers in developing countries.

In 2001, IFOAM, FAO and UNCTAD decided to join forces to find solutions to this problem. Together they organized the Conference on International Harmonization and Equivalence in Organic Agriculture, which took place in Nuremberg, Germany on 18-19 February, 2002. This event was the first of its kind, as the partnership between the private organic community and United Nations institutions offered a forum for public and private discussions. One of the key recommendations of the Conference was that a multi-stakeholder Task Force, comprised of representatives of governments, FAO, UNCTAD and IFOAM, should be established in order to elaborate practical proposals and solutions.

In response, the International Task Force (ITF) on Harmonization and Equivalence in Organic Agriculture was launched and held its first meeting on 18 February 2003 in Nuremberg, Germany. At this meeting the ITF agreed on its Terms of Reference and a work plan for the first 18 months.

This publication is a compilation of reports of the first two ITF meetings, the four discussion papers from the Geneva Meeting, and the Terms of Reference of the ITF. Together with the earlier publication, The Organic Guarantee System: the need and strategy for harmonisation and equivalence1 , it provides the comprehensive record of the ITF.