The Natural Agriculture Association of Campinas’ Participatory Guarantee System: a case study in the metropolitan area of San Paolo, Brazil

The research aimed to rescue the context in which the Brazilian regulation for organic production and control mechanisms for organic quality assurance occurred. Also a case study on what has been the experience of the first PGS (Participatory Guarantee System) accredited by Mapa (Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply) was conducted. The Natural Agriculture Association of Campinas decided to adopt a PGS three years ago ending its activities as a non-profitable third party certifier. The research sought to understand the farmer´s motivations for adopting the ANC´s PGS and which are the main challenges and gains within this kind of social control mechanism. The study preliminary results indicate that the recognition by the law of PGSs and SCOs (Social Control Organizations) as alternatives to third part certification was an important achievement for ecological based family farming in the country. In relation to the specific studied PGS, the experience has empowered the participant producers due to cooperation’s increasing through the creation of strategies to collectively commercialize their products and inputs purchase, the constant sharing of experiences, the creation of a seed bank and the participatory decision-making process in replacement to the third part system that existed before. The main challenges are related to bureaucratic requirements from Mapa and the reduction of the PGS´s direct and indirect costs