Growers in emerging markets are being offered the opportunity to get a foot on the ladder to supplying major supermarkets around the world.
GLOBALG.A.P has announced the creation of localg.a.p, an entry level Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) programme that will allow producers who may not otherwise be able to implement GAPs to join the scheme.
“This programme is designed around our proven and harmonised GAP measures, along with our state-of-the-art IT platform, to help producers to get on a path towards GLOBALG.A.P food safety and sustainability certification,” said chairman Nigel Garbutt.
The new programme is being backed by a network of farm assurers and consultants who can guide producers through the early stages of implementing GAPs on farm.
Producers in many countries are expected to benefit from the changes, with examples due to be cited this week at a press conference in Berlin.
These include customising GLOBALG.A.P for producers in east Africa and laying the foundations for food safety and sustainability in the Polish frozen fruit industry.
The global standards setting body also announced new elements to tackle concerns over the scarcity of resources such as water.
These include voluntary add-on sustainability modules where spe- cific criteria can be certified without the burden of additional audits.
“In establishing a new responsible water use stake-holder committee, GLOBALG.A.P is demonstrating its commitment to work on further harmonised criteria for this key resource area and tackling major issues for the future well-being of our industry,” Garbutt said.
The new developments are all part of a move to address fears over food security in future by helping emerging producers lay the foundations for food safety and sustainability, he added.
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