BIODAR - Label of Products from Ecological Farms

http://www.kmetzav-mb.si/eko/stran4_2.htm
http://www.organic-europe.net/country_reports/slovenia/default.asp
http://www.zveza-ekokmet.si/
http://www.holdingljubljana.si/trznice/deli_trznice/eko_trznica.htm

Relevance

national

Target

In 1997, the Slovenian Organic Farmers’ Association (S.O.F.A.) was founded. This was the first national association of pioneer organic farmers who were producing for the market, and who were therefore interested in the development of a certification system.
The association adopted the standards for organic agriculture in Slovenia that were prepared by the Institute for Sustainable Development (ISD), a non-governmental organisation (NGO), specifically for this purpose. After a period of three parallel certification schemes in Slovenia (since 1998) and after 53 successful certifications, in 1999 the The Union of Slovenian Organic Farmers’ Associations (USOFA) (followed by the second society AJDA) developed a common trade-mark for organic products. The trade-mark BIODAR refers to the above mentioned production standards and stands for whole-farm conversion.

Product/service group & Criteria

Ecologically produced foodstuffs are the harvest and products produced on the farms, operated according to the international IFOAM Basic Standards (international organisation for ecological farming). The requirements are in some elements more severe than the national regulation, especialy this refers to the whole-farm conversion to ecological farming. The products from the first year of whole-farm conversion are allowed to be put on the market only as ordinary (conventional) products, the products from the second year of the whole-farm conversion may be marked with “Products from whole-farm conversion to ecological farming by the standards of USOFA” and the products from at least the third of continous ecological farming may be labelled with the BIODAR trade-mark.

Awarding Institution & Control mechanisms

The BIODAR label is issued by The Union of Slovenian Organic Farmers’ Associations (ISOFA) and controlled by an independent control organisation.

 Relevance on the market

The labelling is voluntary, the trade-mark is national collective mark, limited to Slovenia.
A total of 210 USOFA farms applied for certification in 1999. The interest for the label is continuos and recognised on the market.