Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) is a low-cost quality assurance initiative which guarantees the quality of agricultural products and has the potential to regain consumers’ trust. PGS has emerged as an alternative quality assurance mechanism to that of high cost third party certification system. The certification primarily focused on the domestic market and short supply chain. This system empowers the local producers to make their produce high valued by maintaining their quality. Concerns over the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides have prompted interest in more sustainable approaches to agriculture, including natural fish farming within an agroecological framework. These approaches prioritize environmental health, biodiversity, and long-term sustainability while aiming to reduce the negative impacts of conventional practices on both human health and the ecosystem. Emphasizing principles of inclusivity, shared vision, transparency, and trust, the PGS India framework operationalizes through the establishment of local groups as pivotal decision-making entities. Adhering to predetermined eligibility criteria, individual farmers within these groups collectively commit to the PGS pledge and group agreement. The Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) in freshwater aquaculture has been initiated in support with DoF, Assam and ICCSPL and implemented in the natural fish farming practices in the Mayong development block of Morigaon district, Assam with support from German Development co-operation (GIZ) through Federal Ministry for Economic Co-operation and Development, Germany (BMZ).
In this study around 500 small-scale marginal fish farmers were selected based on their fish farming practices with the help of Farmer Co-operative. T of maintaining a balance between their farming activities and the health of the surrounding ecosystem as for example use of EM (Effective microorganism) for maintaining pond health and to reduce feed cost. Participation in the PGS empowered farmers to learn about the strategies and the functioning of the farmers’ markets held by peers, recognizing the potential markets, risks involved and adopt mitigation measures accordingly with assurance of brand value through specific certification, labeling and value addition.
Key Words: Agroecology, Biodiversity, Certification, Effective microorganism (EM), Participatory Guarantee System (PGS).