1. Exploration stage (1990-1993)
From the angle of protecting the rural environment and improving utilization of the internal resources of agro-ecosystem, the Nanjing Institute of Environmental Science under the National Environmental Protection Agency (NIES-NEPA) holds that it is conducive in addressing these subject to develop organic agriculture further in China, and is also planning to undertake researches of organic agriculture. In 1987, sponsored by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund of the United States, an organic agriculture study team from the institute made a 3-week tour investigating organic agriculture in the USA.
In 1988, the Rural Ecosystem Division of the institute formally applied to the Secretariat of IFOM for membership and was admitted in late 1988, becoming the first Chinese collective full member of IFOAM. UP to now, the number of IFOM members in China was over 30.
NIES-NEPA has been authorized by S.E.C (now Skal), a certifying body of organic agriculture in Netherlands, to inspect the tea production, processing, storage and transportation of two tea gardens in Zhejiang Province, China, in line with the basic standard of organic agriculture since early 1990. Their organic black tea and green tea have been exported to the Holland and some other European countries. These organic teas are probably the first organic agricultural products China has ever produced in line with the IFOAM´s basic standard and to the international market.
2. Initial stage (1994-2001)
In 1992, the Ministry of Agriculture formally established the China Green Food Development Centre, national level institution with the authority to certify agricultural products free of chemical contamination. In 1995, green food reclassified its original certification label to "A-Grade Green Food", and introduced an "AA-Grade" label.
The China Green Food Development Centre and its company use the large number of A Grade producers as a pool from which to select candidates for conversion to AA Grade production bases. This will allow them to target the international organic market without abandoning what has already been accomplished domestically. The special "AA-Grade" Green Food label is to certify products produced without any chemical pesticides or fertilizers. Then the certification standards were designed in line with international norm. By the end of 2003, 4030 kinds of green product had been developed by 2047 green producers and enterprises, of which 119 kinds and 53 enterprises were received AA-Grade label, with a total volume of 32.6 million tons.
In 1993/94, the Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences did the first field trial in the Jiangsu province: comparing organic strawberry production with conventional strawberry production, in collaboration with the University of California in Santa Cruz.
This movement also had the support of the German institution for cooperation - GTZ - through the Centre for Integrated Agricultural Development (CIAD), established in 1988 at the Beijing University of Agriculture with the support of the GTZ. In 1992, the CIAD published the first book in Chinese, with the participation of German authors, where the concept of organic agriculture was described, comparing it with other farming systems.
In May 1994, in the CIAD, in Beijing, the First International Symposium of Organic Agriculture in China took place.
In 1994, the Chinese National Agency for Environmental Protection established the Chinese Organic Food Development Centre, based in Nanjing. In 1996, this Centre was recognized by the IFOAM, as a certification authority for China. Since then, several developments have occurred, both in governmental institutions and private companies. Moreover, China has participated in the world famous German organic farming international fair - Biofach - since 1995.
In January 1999, OFDC Organic Certification Standards were issued. After a series of revisions, the 2001 edition of the standards is basically in consistence with IFOAM Basic Standards and other international organic standards.
3. Fast developing stage (2002-)
In October 2002, according to the Ministry of Agriculture´s demand, China Organic Food Certification Center (COFCC), a professional organization responsible for organic food certification and management under of P.R. China, was set up by the Green Food Development Center.
In November 2002, Regulations of the People´s Republic of China on Certification and Accreditation were implemented. According to the new regulations, Certification Accreditation Administration of the People´s Republic of China is responsible for the certification work.
In 2003, OFDC was renamed as Nanjing Organic Food Development and Certification Centre
Now, there are several international certifiers in China. The earliest one entered China is OCIA of U.S.A. in 1995, which cooperated with OFDC to set up the division of OCIA in Nanjing. The other certifiers in China are ECOCERT, BCS, IMO, JONA and OMIC. International certifiers in China have certified over 500 organic companies.
