In 2003, FAO joined forces with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) and formed the International Task Force on Harmonization and Equivalence in Organic Agriculture (ITF). This initiative was supported by several donor organizations2 .

The ITF was composed of individuals working in government agencies, intergovernmental agencies, and civil society and other private sector organizations involved in organic agriculture regulation, standardization, accreditation, certification and trade3 .

The ITF represented an open-ended platform for dialogue among public and private stakeholders who worked together from 2003 to 2008. The goal of the ITF was to address and seek solutions to trade barriers arising from the many different standards, technical regulations and certification requirements that function in the organic sector, and enable developing countries to have more access to organic trade. The ITF focused on opportunities for harmonization, equivalence and other forms of cooperation within and between government and private organic guarantee systems.