What are Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and their Scope?

Food safety has become more and more important throughout time as a result of its effect on consumer health as well as the expansion of domestic and international food trade. To safeguard customers from the risks of foodborne illnesses, safe food production is crucial. Furthermore, food security and competitiveness in export markets are also directly impacted by food safety. Food safety risks can appear at several points along the food chain, from primary production to secondary and tertiary processing, storage and distribution, and packaging. As a result, it is crucial to start on the farm level when discussing food safety. For the purpose of guaranteeing a secure food supply, excellent practices must be implemented during on-farm production and post-production operations.

In accordance with the FAO, Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) is “a collection of principles to apply for on-farm production and postproduction processes, resulting in safe and healthy food and non-food agriculture products, while taking into account economic, social, and environmental sustainability.” To assure the quality and safety of their produce, several importing nations as well as domestic customers, notably organized merchants, increasingly require manufacturers to implement GAP as a prerequisite for procurement, which has increased the focus on doing so. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries have not placed a lot of emphasis on adopting GAP, and the majority of their food safety regulations are either directed at the processing industry or at final goods. In other nations, a comparable circumstance is present. Upon the request of a few SAARC nations, a regional project titled “Development of Standards and Scheme for Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) Implementation and Certification in Countries of SAARC” was created.

Through internal multi-stakeholder dialogues, the project has assisted several of the pilot nations in internalizing and implementing the GAP system, including the standard and the infrastructure for its support. This guarantees the creation of national programs based on international procedures, secures trustworthy certification, and improves the standard of the GAP infrastructure in the pilot nations. Additionally, it is anticipated that the shared GAP standard and implementation methodology in these nations will foster trade throughout the SAARC area. The nations chosen for the pilot programs were Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. These pilot projects included identifying the scheme owner and certification body in each of the pilot countries, adapting the scheme documents, strengthening the certification and accreditation infrastructure for GAP, structured training sessions and awareness programs for the scheme owner and certification and accreditation personnel, as well as training of trainers (TOT) programs for those people who would, after receiving intensive training, train a group of people in the scheme.

Objective

This standard’s primary goal is to strengthen Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) for fruits and vegetables across nations. The lack of standards for excellent practices in the farming sector is one of the difficulties that the majority of nations today face. Whether they are technical requirements that must be followed or voluntary norms, the majority of food safety regulations concentrate on final goods.

Purpose

The goal of this paper is to outline Good Agricultural Practices that growers of fruits and vegetables should follow in order to increase the quality and safety of their products while also preserving the environment and the health and safety of their workers.

Scope

This standard outlines the GAP requirements for all types of fresh fruits and vegetables, including production, harvesting, and post-harvest handling of farm produce as well as pack house operations for produce either for sale for immediate human consumption or to be used for additional processing by the food industry. The standard can be used to any sort of production system, including hydroponic and traditional production methods, which both grow food inertly in a liquid medium. Either an open area or a safe location can be used for production. Sprouts and minimally processed produce like chopped fruits and vegetables are examples of high-risk goods that are not covered by this guideline. Although the standard does not provide a basis for the certification of organic or GMO-free goods, in circumstances where GAP requirements are followed, these goods may nonetheless be certified as GAP compliant. This issue needs to be addressed appropriately because in some countries the regulatory policy forbids the production of GM crops. According to this standard, the criteria or standards are further divided into three categories: “critical,” “major,” and “minor.”

Sources:

This standard was created using a variety of international standards, recommendations, and certified GAP systems as references. The ASEAN Secretariat was one of the primary sources of information in 2006. Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) are used in the ASEAN region to produce fresh fruits and vegetables.

FAORAP. 2014. Training manual on ASEAN GAP implementation in the area of fruits and vegetables: its accreditation and certification.

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