The Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) has held a stakeholder workshop to finalise arrangements for the establishment of a National Organic Certification Scheme, as the country moves to end its dependence on foreign certification bodies and unlock premium export markets for farmers and agribusinesses. 

The workshop, which was held in collaboration with the German Development Cooperation (GIZ), brought together officials from the Ministries of Food and Agriculture, and Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, industry players, development partners, farmer representatives, and members of academia.

On the sidelines of the workshop, the GSA launched the logo of the scheme, a symbolic step marking the authority's readiness to operationalise what it described as a landmark initiative for Ghana's agricultural sector. 

Scheme

The GSA Director-General, Professor George Agyei, explained that the scheme was not a promise but "a scheme with architecture," built on ISO/IEC 17065 — the international standard for bodies certifying products, processes, and services — and aligned with the European Union (EU) Organic Regulation 2018/848, which governs access to one of the world's most demanding organic markets.

He said the certification process would follow a rigorous four-stage cycle of application, audit, certification decision, and ongoing surveillance, covering crops, horticultural products, fruits and vegetables.

Prof. Agyei said the scheme was corrective to what he described as a structural injustice, adding that Ghanaian farmers who practised organic agriculture currently earned the same price as those who did not, while being shut out of international markets where organic premiums could reach between 20 per cent and 40 per cent above conventional prices.

"Without it, our farmers export under someone else's mark.

They bear the cost of organic production, but capture none of the premium," he said. 

He cited figures showing the global organic food and beverage market was valued at over $220 billion in 2024 and projected to exceed $380 billion by 2030, with Europe accounting for more than a third of global organic consumption.

The GSA Director-General said the authority was on a clear accreditation roadmap, with recognition by an international accreditation body as its near-term target, a step he described as the key to unlocking equivalence arrangements with the EU.

Looking beyond Ghana's borders, Prof. Agyei said the scheme positioned the country to become the preferred organic certification destination for the West African sub-region under the African Continental Free Trade Area, with the GSA's mandate rooted in the Standards Authority Act, 2022 (Act 1078). 

Journey

He urged farmer cooperatives and agribusinesses to engage early with the scheme, describing first movers as claiming competitive advantage in a growing market.

The Component Head of Invest for Jobs at GIZ Ghana, Eunice Agyeiwah Agyepong, told participants that the initiative was born out of recognition that while Ghana held significant potential in organic agriculture, access to certification remained a major barrier for many producers and enterprises, with most businesses forced to rely on foreign certification bodies at considerable cost.

"The process could be complex, time-consuming and difficult for small and medium-sized enterprises to navigate," she said, adding that global demand for certified organic products was rising at an unprecedented pace across Europe, North America, Asia, and increasingly within Africa.

She said that investments had been made to strengthen laboratory and testing infrastructure within the GSA to provide a technical foundation for the scheme.

Ms Agyepong urged producers, processors, exporters, retailers, consumers, farmer organisations, research institutions, development partners, and industry associations to actively support the rollout of the scheme.