PGSOC is a cause driven social organization dedicated to bringing about an inclusive platform for small and marginal organic producers to collaborate and flourish in the domestic market through a process based on verifiable trust . PGSOC has a holistic approach and works in collaboration with farmer organizations, civil society organizations, government and consumer networks to develop, promote and advocate socially empowering and inclusive mechanisms for small and marginal organic producers to guarantee and market their produce. PGSOC was formed out of the need for a verifiable and credible means of verification for consumers and for them to trace out the sources of their food at least to the farmer group level, who are working on organic crop production, distribution systems and consumer markets. Best practices and indigenous knowledge systems of the member farmer collectives are distilled as common standards and processes to ensure safe and healthy food for the consumers.

Under PGS (Participatory Guarantee System) organic farmers are vested with the responsibility to produce a credible and effective system of quality assurance. Each farmer pledges that his/her production process is free from manufactured chemicals. The “Local Group” of five or more organic farmers is the fulcrum of the self-regulatory support system, of PGS. The quality assurance standards are harmonized by the PGS Organic Council, which permits the use of its PGS label on a product as a mark of quality.

PGSOC as an organization is evolving beyond just providing a guarantee for the organic production process, to providing holistic support to small and marginal farmers following agro-ecological practices in India, and are largely left out of the trade of organic products because of expensive and elaborate certification systems and inaccessible markets due to lack of commercial scale.