Solidarity Economy: Taiwan, China's First IFOAM-Certified "Tribal e-Shop" Practices the PGS Participatory Guarantee System

Organic agriculture has been developing in Taiwan, China for 30 years, but limited by factors such as high certification fees and the ease of contamination from neighboring fields amid fragmented farmland, the area under organic certification currently stands at only 6500 hectares, accounting for less than 1% of the island's total farmland. On top of that, organic produce often gets reduced to symbols like "zero pesticide residue" by the time it reaches the end market. For all these reasons, many producers practicing eco-friendly farming find it hard (or are unwilling) to enter this system. To make up for the shortcomings of current organic development, the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) proposed the Organic 3.0 concept in 2013, and began making the "Participatory Guarantee System" (PGS) a main thrust of its advocacy.

Whereas traditional organic agriculture relies on third-party certification so that producers and consumers, who do not know each other, can identify organic produce, PGS places great emphasis on building relationships of trust through the participation of multiple stakeholders - for example, consumers forming groups to visit production sites and interact with producers, and jointly drawing up farming standards and other consensus points, which at the same time deepens consumers' understanding of organic agriculture.

At present in Taiwan, China, the development of the PGS system is still in its infancy. Last year, there was much debate between official and civil society circles over whether the legislation of the "Organic Agriculture Act" should incorporate PGS and how it should be regulated. Yet it was precisely at this moment that Taiwan, China saw the birth of its first IFOAM-recognized PGS organization, "Tribal e-Shop." This organization has spent 6 to 7 years groping toward and practicing PGS, and has finally found a path forward.

The 921 Earthquake Gave Birth to Tribal e-Shop, a PGS Pioneer

Tribal e-Shop was founded about 10 years ago. Its founder, Chin Hui-wen, who is also secretary-general of the Taiwan Indigenous Peoples College Promotion Association, was originally a typical Taipei kid who knew barely a handful of vegetables and seldom set foot in a kitchen, yet she felt a sense of mission to help indigenous tribes develop sustainable agriculture.

In 1999, the 921 Earthquake sent Chin Hui-wen to Nantou to assist with post-disaster reconstruction, and from then on began her indissoluble bond with the tribes. Originally helping indigenous people rebuild their lives locally, in 2007 she established the "Tribal e-Shop" platform, hoping that through fair trade and direct sales from the place of production, farmers could avoid being exploited by middlemen.

At that time, Taiwan, China had just enacted the "Agricultural Production and Certification Management Act" and was gradually beginning to manage organic certification, while international reflection on organics and even the shaping of the PGS concept were still very vague. "So when I first heard about the PGS system I scoffed at it. If the state doesn't recognize this system and you go it alone, you're bound to hit obstacle after obstacle in marketing."

Chin Hui-wen heard about PGS from Cheng Feng-hsi, founding chairman of the Chinese Organic Agriculture Association. At the time, Cheng Feng-hsi told her: "In Taiwan, China, only indigenous people can make PGS work." She was half doubtful, until later when domestic organic development began to run into many problems - for example, certification fees were so high that small farmers could not afford them - and for this reason she began to learn about PGS.

Agricultural Autonomy, Solidarity Economy: The Island's First IFOAM Certification

Chin Hui-wen, who has long been involved in indigenous issues, has always believed that if indigenous peoples are to move toward self-governance in the future, they must start with agricultural autonomy. She therefore always saw PGS as a way to lead indigenous agriculture toward a solution to its livelihood problems. Last year, she and Chen Chieh-ting, associate researcher at the Agricultural Technology Research Institute, co-authored an article titled "Solidarity Economy" documenting how Tribal e-Shop has operated PGS over the years and presented it at an internationally renowned sociology conference. Unexpectedly, the article caught IFOAM's eye and was formally registered on November 27 last year, making it the island's first IFOAM-recognized PGS organization.

Chin Hui-wen said that although such recognition is cause for happiness, Tribal e-Shop still has far too much to do. For example, it is developing an app and using digital technology so that farmers can write production logs by taking photos, simplifying the hassle of written records. Also, in the past Tribal e-Shop devoted relatively little attention to consumer participation, so most of those who support Tribal e-Shop today are people concerned about indigenous issues. This year it will offer food and agriculture education combining indigenous culture, giving more consumers a chance to get to know indigenous agriculture.