GlobalGAP has announced the highest monthly increase in producers achieving its certification, with 10,000 additional farmers from Kenya and India taking the figure to 150,000 globally.
According to CEO Kristian Möller, most of the newcomers are smallholder farms that have benefited from the newly introduced smallholder registration fee level.
The increase has also been attributed to the recognition of elements of contract growing in farmers’ Option 2 Group Certification structure.
“We expect these numbers to rise further through our LocalGAP programme, which one of our retail members recently introduced in Botswana,” said Möller.
LocalGAP is a programme encouraging good agricultural practices at local level, providing a cost-effective solution that helps producers gain gradual recognition by offering an entry level to certification.
June would be a busy month for GlobalGAP, Möller added. “Our Board aims to adopt the new Version 5 of the Integrated Farm Assurance Standard for Crops and Aquaculture, after our technical committees have completed reviewing all of the 1,500 comments received during the two public consultation periods,” he said.
