Slides with notes GlobalGap - Головна -...

GlobalGap private standard

A look at the standard and what is required to achieve it

• Standards and certification– Accreditation bodies– Certification bodies– Laboratories and testing

• Short History of GlobalGap– Where it came from– Who owns it– How does the standard get written

• The main parts of GlobalGap– General regulations– Key elements– Options for certification– Practical tools examples– Preparing for an audit

• Opportunities for Ukraine Gap

An introduction to GlobalGap

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Today I will spend the next two hours giving an overview of the global gap standard. This is a presentation designed to provide some history and some information about the standard and to take away some of the misinformation that sometimes surrounds private standards. Global gap is achievable for most farmers around the world and can be adapted for most farming systems regardless of size and type of crop I will also look at some opportunities for Ukraine to participate in global gap activities in order to understand and influence the development of the global gap standard but also to promote and inform global gap members about the potential that Ukraine can offer.

Essential frameworksWhat needs to be in place before considering large scale use of private standards

• Private standards utilise the public services and normative documents published by ISO

• It is important that accreditation bodies, certification bodies, testing laboratories and other institutions are functional before embarking on private standards certification.

• GlobalGap like many other private standards requires approved certification bodies to operate to international procedures and requires certain types of testing in recognised laboratories.

• Where these recognised auditing companies and testing facilities do not exist it is possible that these processes can be recognised in other approved countries. However this does increase both cost and complexity.

Accreditation and certification

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Private standards whether agriculture or food safety rely on public regulation and public bodies as a basis of the activities. To receive private standards certification there must be accredited certification bodies available to come and do the inspections. Private standards require certain types of testing for key components such as water, soil, microbiological and other aspects. Laboratories test for these products are also accredited to international standards. Where these internationally recognised organisations do not exist it is possible to use external services but with that comes increased cost and complication.

LEGA

L FRA

MEW

ORK

Standards Institute

Accreditation Board

Industrial Metrology Institute

BIPM International Weights and Measures

ISO ILAC / IAF

Calibration

Laboratories

Inspection Bodies

System Auditors

System Certifiers

ISO 22000

ISO 9000

ISO 14000

Testing Services

ISO 17025 ENTE

RPRI

SES

Private GAP

Private GMP

Public Standards Framework

Adapted from UNIDO TCB

This is a map of the public standards framework that supports private standards. Standards, metrology, testing and quality systems are all required to be in place and functional in order to support the private standards that the companies seek to use. It is often forgotten that these institutions may require capacity building themselves either by way of extra staff, specialist knowledge or even an awareness of how important they are to export potential. There are a number of organisations such as UNIDO that specialise in supporting these types of institution to develop better capacity and capability.

• Accreditation bodies assess and inspect the certification bodies to ensure that the methodology and impartiality of the certification bodies is what is required on the international rules.

Accreditation in Ukraine

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Accreditation bodies assess and inspect the certification bodies to ensure that they are doing the job correctly both in the auditing methodology but also in making sure they are interpreting the standard correctly. Private standards such as global gap require that certification bodies are recognised by accreditation bodies and are operating to professional standards. This ensures that the outcomes of the certification such as better agricultural practice, better food safety and more sustainable farming are measured correctly and at the producer receives a valid certification. The National accreditation body of Ukraine website appears to show that they are working hard with International bodies such as the International accreditation Forum, and the European accreditation Forum. As agriculture becomes more important as an export crop it is essential that the National accreditation body of Ukraine become a key partner for the future working with the trade associations of agriculture.

• Laboratories and testing facilities are required for water testing, soil testing and pesticide residue testing.

• The facilities must be accredited to ISO17025 and familiar with agricultural testing.

– There are many countries that have medical laboratories or public health laboratories but these facilities do not have the experience or knowledge to undertake processes such as pesticide residue detection.

Laboratories and testing facilities

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Laboratories and testing facilities are required not just to be accredited to the ISO standard but they must have experience of agricultural testing. There are many laboratories that operate in the fields of industry, medical and science but would have little experience testing for aspects such as heavy metals in soil or pesticide residues on fresh fruit. In some cases, there is not enough laboratory capacity to provide the expertise and facilities to operate these services effectively. However, it could be the case that if too many laboratories try to offer the services there will not be enough work to pay for the investment required to make them agricultural specialists. It is important when considering the future of private standards in Ukrainian horticulture and agriculture that laboratories become partners in the development and that they have the capacity and the expertise to provide the professional services that will be required to achieve private certification of agricultural and horticultural products

• Certification bodies

– Certification is a procedure by means of which a recognized body gives a written guaranty in accordance with established procedure that products (quality management system, service) satisfies the established legislation requirements

– Certification bodies can be national bodies operated by government departments or they can be private companies both multinational or national.

– In either case all certification bodies regardless of ownership or nationality must operate to the international rules and this is specified by GlobalGap

Standards and certification

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Certification is the process by means of which a recognised body gives a written guarantee in accordance with established procedures and that the product quality management system satisfies all of the legislation requirements. To achieve this the certification body must operate the inspection process to a recognised international standard and must take all of the criteria from the standard they are measuring against and apply them in a uniform way.

• Certification bodies that want to become GLOBALG.A.P. approved must be accredited for ISO/IEC 17065 for the relevant scope and sub-scope.

• GLOBALG.A.P. signs license and certification agreements (LCA) with certification bodies that have passed successfully the GLOBALG.A.P. internal approval process. The agreements and the accreditation ensure a standardized high level of quality and integrity.

• All GLOBALG.A.P. inspectors and auditors are required to pass an online test and one in-house trainer per CB must take part in a compulsory CB Training Workshop.

• All auditors have to attend the GLOBALG.A.P. QMS Auditor Training.

GLOBALG.A.P. Certification Bodies

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Many private standards such as global gap require certification bodies to be recognised by the National accreditation body but also by the private standard themselves. The auditors of certification body are required to undertake global gap training to ensure that they fully understand what the standard means and how it should be applied. This means that sometimes there is a shortage of trained auditors with the necessary experience to provide the certification. This is particularly true in markets where global gap are just establishing themselves. In this case it is common to find auditors being flown in from other countries which adds to cost and is not efficient. It is important that Ukraine develops a good capacity of trained auditors that can meet the needs of the farmers and producers in the future. The farmers and producers should work closely and in partnership with the certification bodies in Ukraine helping them to predict what capacity will be needed in the future and to ensure there are enough trained auditors to meet their needs.

• There are three certification bodies with offices in Ukraine– Go and talk to them about working with the trade associations

and develop capacity and business together

GlobalGap approved certification companies in Ukraine

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From the global gap website there are three approved certification bodies listed as having offices in Ukraine. I would suggest that the trade associations, chambers of commerce and other entities that are interested in promoting exports undertake a review of how many farms or factories may require certification in the future and hold meetings with the certification bodies to ensure that there is sufficient capacity at a local level. There are certain costs which are associated with running a certification body many of which are related to international recognition and cannot be avoided. For the certification bodies to be efficient to provide the best service to farmers they need to become partners for the future and not regarded as an unnecessary cost.

• Summary

– For companies considering GlobalGap or any other private standard certification in order to access international markets it is essential that the accreditation and certification services are fully functional.

– In order to reduce costs, eliminate duplication and inefficiency and to operate private standards effectively farmer organisations, production groups and commercial associations should work with government.

– Making clear to government departments what is needed to support local industries to achieving private standards is often the first step.

– Organising information, bringing expertise to support and capacity build institutions often helpful especially if they can train the trainers.

Standards and certification

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So in summary it is important at this early stage that the trade associations and producer groups working partnership with the public authorities to help plan capacity and capability needs for the future. This will reduce costs and eliminate inefficiencies and allow the private standards to operate effectively and provide the market access incentives that can come with private certification Locally there are opportunities for trainers, certifiers and consultants to work with the producers to set up systems that meet the needs of the private standards. Once the systems are set up the farmers and producers can go about their daily lives producing crops and products but it can be frustrating for a producer to do this kind of thing on their own without support.

A short historyThe formation of GlobalGap, who owns it and how it is managed

• Paris 1999

Seventeen retailers decide to introduce an independent verification system as a base for supplier compliance.

• Barcelona 2000

EurepGAP establishes the partnership principle between retailers and producers and presents trial results of its Fruit and Vegetables Protocol.

• Bologna 2001

EurepGAP receives the first ISO 65 accreditation for Fruit and Vegetables and starts granting its first farmer certificates.

• Madrid 2003

EurepGAP presents Version 2 of the Fruit and Vegetables Protocol as the result of the revision process, announces the start of the Flowers & Ornamentals Standard, and launches its new transparent benchmarking procedure.

Short History of GlobalGap

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As you can see from the slide global gap has been around for a long time. Initially it was called EUREP GAP which was something that came from European retailers and producers and it was not until eight years later it changed its name to global gap as it recognised that food production systems were global and that the stakeholders had changed from being just a few European retailers to a global producer community. In 1999 the European Union adopted the approach that food safety was a whole chain approach and that transparency and traceability was required for all products. At the same time campaign groups were pointing to pesticide residues on fruit and vegetables in our supermarkets and consumers were starting to wonder whether healthy fruit and vegetables were in fact not good for them at all. It was the combination of a need for a traceability system and something that measured good agricultural practice that led to the retailers coming together to combine the codes of practice in a way that met both of these needs.

• Amsterdam 2004

EurepGAP launches its standards for (Green) Coffee and Aquaculture in October 2004 and issues the first accredited certificates to farms based on the Integrated Farm Assurance Standard.

• Paris 2005

The first EurepGAP Feed Reference Standard is published and the 2005 version of Integrated Farm Assurance is launched. The first national livestock schemes add their checklists to the EurepGAP Benchmarking tool.

• Prague 2006

Almost 300 delegates from 41 countries discuss and make proposals for the future direction and content of the 2007 version of the EurepGAP Standard.

• Bangkok 2007

A one-day workshop for key stakeholders finalizes the consultation process for the EurepGAP Shrimp Standard. EurepGAP also announces its name change to GLOBALG.A.P.


After the initial technical working groups had agreed on a single set of criteria the initiative grew very quickly into other products such as flowers, green coffee and fish products. In many ways the issues were the same where poor agricultural practice and unsafe use of pesticides and farm chemicals were causing contamination both of the final product and of the environment that they were being grown in. Is important to remember that the GAP in global gap stands for good agricultural practice and that even in 2016 the majority of the requirements of the standard are good agricultural practice. Good agricultural practice is a major contributor to sustainability and food safety but for the farmer can also provide substantial efficiencies and cost savings when the system is fully integrated into daily life. So even though global gap was developed initially by retailers who have the technical capacity and finances to provide the initial development phase global gap has now become a fully representative standard both of primary agricultural production and of the people who work within it.

• Who owns it?

– FoodPLUS GmbH, a private limited company based in Cologne, Germany, that acts as a single management platform for GLOBALG.A.P.

– The executive management of FoodPLUS GmbH, bears responsibility for the implementation of policies and standards, as well as facilitates the GLOBALG.A.P. benchmarking process, manages the GLOBALG.A.P. Database and enforces the decisions made by the ISC.

– Financial and legal ownership and responsibility for FoodPLUS GmbH is held by the EHI Retail Institute.

– The EHI Retail Institute also operates the European Retail Academy, a global network of research institutes linked to retail activities and topics.


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Global gap is a trade brand which is managed by a company in Germany called food plus. The offices in Cologne operate the management systems and administration required to keep the standard operating. EHI retail Institute owns the legal responsibility for food plus and is a not-for-profit research entity working in areas of grocery and retail. Although global gap clearly has to make enough money to cover its costs and to develop new requirements in line with consumer needs is not a profit-making company with shareholders. Many farmers when they receive the instruction to get a global gap certificate feel they are paying a taxation on their businesses and that someone is making a profit. Global gap is an efficient and small management team looking after a very large global standard and provide an excellent service to farmers with any surplus income being fully invested into making the standard more accepted in more places and so improving its value to the producer.

• 228 certified products and over 140 000 certified producers in more than 118 countries

• 1700 trained inspectors and auditors working for 136 accredited certification bodies to perform independent third-party producer audits and certificates.

• The majority of retailers and food service companies now require a GlobalGap certificate

• It is NOT required to export but it is a passport to access premium markets

GlobalGap today

Global gap today is operating with over 140,000 certified producers in more than 118 countries across the world. The majority of the major food retailers, manufacturers and food service companies like McDonald’s support the global gap standard and require it before you can be a supplier. It is important to point out that it is not required as a licence to export. This is a private standard and as such is not recognised by governments or national regulation bodies. You can still export to the European Union if you meet the regulatory requirement but if you want access the premium markets it is most likely that you need to seek private certification such as global gap. Because global gap is highly focused on good agricultural production and best practice it will help farmers and producers to meet the regulation needs and to reduce the possibility of pesticide residues and rejections because of poor farming practice. It is important to understand that if the system is operated properly it is as valuable to the producer as a best practice system as it is to the retailer who will be able to tell his consumer that the product has been produced under the best possible conditions

• GLOBALG.A.P. has five main Technical Committees:– Crops – Aquaculture – Livestock – GRASP – Systems & Rules

• Crops and Aquaculture TC: Consists of 7 retail/food service members and 7 producer/trader members for each committee

• GRASP and Livestock TC: Consists of 5 retail/food service members and 5 producer/trader members for each committee

• Systems & Rules TC: Consists of 3 retail/food service members and 3 producer/trader members

• The producer/trader and retailer/food service members represent, with a minimum of one expert, the following regions: North America, South America, Europe, Africa and Asia.

GlobalGap Technical Committees

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Global gap has five main technical committees focusing on crops, agriculture, livestock, social standards and the systems and rules that are required to manage these key production areas. The committees are democratically elected by the members and are representative of producers, traders, retailers and foodservice members. There is also a system to ensure that geographic representation takes place and that all production systems from tropical to temporal are represented in the technical working groups. This wide representation ensures that the standard would not be used to give one particular group of growers a technical advantage over another and that all of the newly developed criteria can be adopted by farmers and producers regardless of their size, wealth or position in the supply chain.

GlobalGap Technical Committees• They are responsible for developing and defining the standard criteria, called Control Points

and Compliance Criteria. They also define the cornerstone of the rules, called GLOBALG.A.P. General Regulations, which establish clear criteria for the successful implementation and verification of the standards.

• The role of the Technical Committees (TCs) is to maintain the GLOBALG.A.P. Integrated Farm Assurance Standards V5, Systems & Rules V5, and GRASP, respectively.

• Main tasks:

– Maintain the Standards– Review scope related communication– Decide on sector related technical interpretation of the Integrated Farm Assurance Standard V5, Crops

for Processing, HPSS, GRASP and Systems & Rules.– Participate in the peer review of National Interpretation Guidelines submitted by the National Technical

Working Groups, thereby ensuring harmonized interpretation and proposing adoption.– Advise the GLOBALG.A.P. Board in a technical capacity when called upon.– Participate in Focus Groups as the need arises.– Review the work of related Focus Groups before publication. Each proposal from a Focus Group that is

not accepted by a TC shall be brought to the GLOBALG.A.P. Board, accompanied by clear and objective justifications of TC decisions.

The technical committees develop the key criteria which will be used to inspect farm practices. Technical committees listen to consumers, understand the challenges that are coming forward from regulation and from our knowledge of best farming practices and try to build those into the standard. Subjects such as integrated pest management, better use of water, reduction in the use of strong chemicals are all in everyone’s best interest and built into the standard at each revision to reflect the changing world and to give farmers guidance and the system to work with. As global gap expands across the globe it is important that the management systems that the certification bodies are using to inspect forms are fit for purpose. The inspection process must be efficient but most of all must be fair regardless of whether you are in South Africa, China or Chile. With corruption and fraud come challenges and problems and many people will point out that you can buy certificates from the Internet. I can assure you that global gap have very efficient systems with regard to issuing and managing certification which allow clients to check certification numbers and expiry dates. The technical committees have an input and an influence on designing the systems to make sure that they are effective in respect of the new challenges that we face.

• How does the standard get written ?


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Every four years the standard is revised. Almost as soon as the new standard is published the working groups go back to the task of deciding what will be in the next version, what should be removed and how it all fits together. It would not be possible to keep adding things without considering what value they are providing in producing better, safer good agricultural practices. Global gap board of directors give direction to the technical committees and ensure that the standard remains efficient and usable. Extensive stakeholder consultation with environmental experts, food safety experts, public and private bodies such as universities and trade associations are all consulted for their inputs both at the beginning and the end of the process. The individual specialist groups such as crops or livestock look at the detail and decide what can be done at farm level to make things better. The larger groups come together to make sure there is consistency across all the standards and that it is not easier to produce shrimps than it would be to produce potatoes.

The main parts of the standardThe key components of the standard

The main parts of GlobalGap• The new IFA Version 5 came into force on 1 July 2015

and will be mandatory from 1 July 2016.

Global gap operate a system called integrated farm assurance. This means there are some aspects of the standard which are common to all kinds of farming with a fish, fruit or vegetables. Running a good production operation has some basic needs such as record-keeping, having a documented system and having management that are committed to best practice. Global gap then splits into crops or livestock and then down into the individual speciality components. If you are fruit producer you would undertake the all farm criteria, the crops base criteria and then the fruit and veg criteria. For livestock or fish farmers you take the all farm, then the livestock base and then down into your specific area such as dairy or beef. For some international customers there are add-on modules for aspects such as farm worker welfare, propagation materials and animal feed. These are all aimed at increasing coordination across the whole food Supply chain. These additional add-on modules are not so widely accepted as the main standard and you should check with your eventual customer if these additional services are required or whether they would add value to your offer.

• General regulations

– General regulations all the rules that the standard operates to make sure that a form or a producer meets the requirements.

– General regulations control aspects such as the audit process, the audit interval, how a farm is described and operated.

– The general regulations also reference the procedures for recognition, suspension and integrity within the certification program.

The main parts of GlobalGap

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The main parts of the standard are as follows general regulations are like the rules of the club. These regulations will tell you how often you need to be inspected, what aspects will be inspected, the qualifications of the auditor and what happens to producers who break the rules. The general regulations are just like any club rules which make sure that the system runs efficiently and that everybody plays fairly. Much of the administration involving the general regulations only has to be produced once by a farmer and can then be provided to the auditor for inspection. Quite often farmers and producers take a first look at the general regulations and become discouraged because they look complicated and heavy. In reality much of it is common sense. For example being clear about the ownership of a farm, the legality of the operation and having the required permits to operate the require that all of these documents are kept up-to-date and are arranged in a way that can be easily inspected. If this kind of material is well organised the general regulations of global gap will not be a problem for most producers.

• Key elements – All Farm

– One of the key features of sustainable farming is the continuous integration of site-specific knowledge and practical experiences into future management planning and practices. This section is intended to ensure that the land, buildings and other facilities, which constitute the fabric of the farm, are properly managed to ensure the safe production of food and protection of the environment.


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AF 1.1.1 Is there a reference system for each field, orchard, greenhouse, yard, plot, livestock building/pen, and/or other area/location used in production?

Compliance shall include visual identification in the form of:A physical sign at each field/orchard, greenhouse/yard/plot/livestock building/pen, or other farm area/location

A farm map, which also identifies the location of water sources, storage/handling facilities, ponds, stables, etc. and that could be cross-referenced to the identification system.

The key elements of the standard of the aspects that relate to the day-to-day production of growing a crop or producing animals for food. As I mentioned before they are split into three sections which are all farm which is for everyone, crops or animals and then down into the individual specialist areas. The example above is an all farm example which requires that there is a reference system for each field, orchard, greenhouse or livestock building. It clearly identifies what the auditor will be looking for to make sure that these criteria are met. In reality the practical application of this requirement is that you will have a map of your farm and that the fields and buildings will have names or numbers. Many of the criteria in the standard look daunting when they are written down but in reality it is just a process of formalising what is already known. Although the farmer knows that he has a field beside the trees and alongside the river that is growing corn the auditor who has never been to the farm before must have a reference system to follow so calling that field by a letter or by a number and marking it on a map allows the inspector to understand what operations have been going on in that field in the past year.

• Key Elements Crops Base

– Good soil husbandry ensures the long-term fertility of the soil, aids yield, and contributes to profitability. Not applicable in the case of crops that are not grown directly on the soil (e.g. hydroponic or potted plants).


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CB 3.1 Does the producer have a soil management plan?

The producer shall demonstrate that consideration has been given to the nutritional needs of the crop and to maintaining soil fertility. Records of analyses and/or crop-specific literature shall be available as evidence.

Producers shall perform calculations at least once for every single crop harvested and on a justified regular basis (e.g. every two weeks in closed systems) for continuously harvested crops. (Analysis may be conducted with on-farm equipment or mobile kits).

The crops base or livestock base is the next level down from the all farm. Here all of the good agricultural practice or good animal practice that would be applicable to all types of farming appear. For example good soil management or good water management is the same regardless of whether you grow tea, coffee or lettuce. If you have animals having the right kind of buildings, animal waste management or feed storage would be common subjects. So in this example the question is does the producer have a soil management plan. The requirement is to demonstrate that the former assesses the needs of the crop before applying fertilisers. The farmer will need to know how much nutrition is left in the soil before he plants his crop and how much nutrient the crop is taking from the soil before applying more fertiliser. With the cost of artificial fertilisers rising every year only applying the right amount of fertiliser that is needed by the crop makes economic sense as well as being good agricultural practice. The days of simply applying 10 bags of fertiliser every year. There is a need to record both the analysis and the application of fertiliser to prove to the inspector that you measured the nutrition need and applied the correct fertiliser.

• Key Elements F&V scope

– Good soil husbandry ensures the long-term fertility of the soil, aids yield, and contributes to profitability. Not applicable in the case of crops that are not grown directly on the soil (e.g. hydroponic or potted plants).


FV 5.8.1 Are all label instructions observed?

There are clear procedures and documentation available, (e.g. application records for post-harvest biocides, waxes and plant protection products) that demonstrate compliance with the label instructions for chemicals applied.

This is the third level which are specific criteria for fruit and vegetables. Here specific examples would be the use of post-harvest chemicals that would extend the life of products in storage. Only using products that are approved for use on a particular crop and using them in a way that is specified on the manufacturers label are essential. A good example here is that many producers will find that a chemical that is specifically designed for use on lettuce could be used on cabbages or possibly even on soft fruit and achieve good results. However because these particular uses are not specified on the label of the chemical itself is not permitted to use these products in this way. You will be required to prove to the auditor that you are only using the right chemicals on the right crops in the right way and by recording the field, the row, the chemical, the dosage used your able to prove to the auditor that you are doing the right thing in the right way.

Pack house• Products that are owned by the producer and are low risk

operations


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Global gap does have a pack house section. The pack house section is designed for simple operations on the farm where fruit and vegetables are handled after harvest but is not designed as a food safety standard which would be applicable to prepared products such as sliced fruit and vegetables. The pack house criteria detailed aspects such as using clean water to wash soil from products, making sure that animal manure does not contaminate food products and that pests such as rodents are not present in these product handling areas. Workers that operate grading or packing machinery in these areas need training in the systems and must understand the reasons why certain tasks must be undertaken. For example if the risk assessment says that the washing water for the apples must be cleaned every five hours or every 5 tonnes of product then this must be carried out correctly and it must be recorded that the water was changed. If workers do not understand why the water needs to be changed or they do not operate the system effectively there is a chance of contamination, a risk to product quality and safety as well as a potential failure when it comes to certification.

• Social module (G.R.A.S.P)

– Worker representation– Complaint handling procedure – Self-declaration on human rights– Access to national labor regulations– Contracts compliant with national laws– Fair and regular wages– No child labour– Schooling for all children living on the farm– Regulated working hours– Self-organization and collective bargaining – No discrimination


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Social model is referred to as GRASP which stands for good risk assessed social practice. Some retailers require this add-on module before they will accept the certification. Other customers will require a stronger and more specialist social practice audit. The grasp model is actually a risk assessment and not a social audit. The grasp module looks at the basic aspects of legal employment and health and safety on the farm and provides a minimum standard that reflects international law. It does not address many of the social complications such as migrant labour, sexual harassment and trade unions. Most farmers and producers would be operating to the standards and are not commonly exploiting workers in a systematic way. However temporary workers, lack of employment contracts and the use of young workers such as students can cause complications and the grasp module is often a good way that the farm can measure itself against the international requirements in a commonsense way.

How to get certifiedHow to get certified and what are the options

• Single farm certification (Option 1)

– Option 1: Single Producer with Single Site or Multiple Sites ("Multisites")

• As long as they are part of a single legal entity or legally-accountable entity

Options for certification

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There are two main methods for certification and both have their positives and negatives for the producer. Option one is single farm certification where a single legal entity which may have multiple farms or sites operates under a single system of management. The certification is given to the farm and is only applicable for that one company.

• Producer Groups (Option 2: )

– Separate farmers (distinct legal entities) form a Producer Group to obtain certification together.

– All producers and/or production sites that are registered within a group under Option 2 must adhere to a mandatory internal Quality Management System (QMS) that governs the production of the products to be certified.

Options for certification

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Producer groups can operate under option two this system allows groups of farmers to come together either as a corporative or as groups of individuals that have different legal ownerships. The various producers come together and agree to operate a standard system across all of the forms which would include standard documentation, standard methods and a set of group rules. There is commonly a technical manager that would coordinate all of the activities of the farms together so that they all operate as sub- sites of a single production system. However they do not have to market their products as a corporative and can sell their products individually to whoever they want.

• Improved market access

• Enabling technology...small-scale farmers ("smallholders") who cannot afford the required staff/systems to achieve certification on their own can do so via producer groups

• Reduced external certification costs (inspection charges and overhead costs)

• Centralized decision-making and responsibility

• Convenient, timely group advising about our standards

• Collective support and incentive to meet standards requirements

Option 2 Benefits:

The benefits of the option to scheme are that small farmers who may not be able to afford the cost of establishing and operating a management system as well as the cost of certification can spread the cost across a larger group. The requirements of option two are no less rigorous than option one and it is not an easier option it is just a different method. The downside of option two is that if one farm fails to operate effectively then everyone in the group is affected because the certificate can be withdrawn. The larger the group and the more complex the group the more hazardous this becomes. The external auditor will come and review the management system and also inspect the square root of the number of forms in the producer group. So for example if there are 100 farmers in the group the inspector will visit 10 of them. The cost of the audit and visiting 10 forms will then be spread across 100 producers so reducing the cost to the individual’s but relying on the fact that everyone is committed to meeting the standard.

• National Interpretation Guidelines

– National Technical Working Groups (NTWGs) in several countries to help adopt GLOBALG.A.P.’s universal standard on a local scale.

– NTWGs identify specific local adaptation and implementation challenges and develop guidelines, known as National Interpretation Guidelines (NIG).

– These guidelines provide guidance to certification bodies and producers on how best to implement GLOBALG.A.P. Control Points and Compliance Criteria at a national level.

Local Adaptation

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Although the standard is developed internationally there is a facility to develop National technical working groups. These groups under the supervision of the global gap management are able to interpret the standard and provide implementation guidelines which will allow producers to meet specific national regulations and to adapt to specific national variations. Trade associations and producer groups can apply to global gap to be registered as a National technical working group and will receive permission and support to produce a set of national guidelines. This guidelines will be reviewed by the global gap technical committees and if excepted will be permitted for use at the time of auditing and certification.

Local Adaptation• A ready-to-use solution consists of:

– A subset of GLOBALG.A.P. iFA Control Points– localg.a.p. Checklist– localg.a.p. General Rules– Access to the GLOBALG.A.P. Database

• This cost-effective solution covers the baseline requirements for food safety and hygiene. ideal for emerging growers and developing markets, it offers an entry level to GLOBALG.A.P. Certification and helps producers gain access to new local and regional markets.

Used by Billa in Bulgaria

There is a variation of the main global gap standard that is referred to as local GAP this is a minimum entry requirement standard that covers most of the main aspects in the production areas of global GAP but has a lighter and less administration focused management system. The aim is to provide an entry point for farmers who can then graduate to the main standard after a period of time. In countries that are just starting out with certification and maybe do not have a requirement for export customer specifications this is a cost-effective and pragmatic solution. Some international retailers such as BILLA who operate individual national models accept the use of local GAP and promote its use for national markets.

Practical examplesExamples of simple and inexpensive methods to be compliant with the standard

• Documentation

– GlobalGap like all private standards requires a producer to prove that activities have taken place

– Producers complain about administration but how can an auditor see what you have done if they are only visiting once per year

– Document records can be notebooks, folders or computer based.

– It does not have to be complicated or expensive but it must be comprehensive

Practical tools examples

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One of the main complaints from farmers is they do not have time to fill out extensive paperwork or to operate computer systems when working on the farms. However in order to prove to the inspector that you are doing the right thing it is necessary to keep these records and it is pointless trying to fight against completing if you are serious about certification. What I will try and point out in this section is that many of the administration tasks can be adapted to simple common sense based approaches and that the investment from the financial point of view can be as little or as large as the farmer feels they can afford. In the example above you can see that one former has drawn his farm on a sheet of paper using highlighter pens to mark the areas that are not for cultivation or have particular soil types that need special attention. In the example below that you can see a computer program that allows the producer to enter all kinds of information including irrigation volumes and soil profiles. Both are perfectly acceptable for certification purposes

• Equipment

– Use simple but effective items to identify fields and growing beds

– Link this to your farm map

– Record all of the farm activities such as watering, planting, spraying and harvesting using these reference tools


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Here you can see two very different methods for marking out a crop row or field. At the top the most basic I have ever seen is simply a rock painted with a row number. Obviously this important that the rock is either large enough or secure enough not to be moved or destroyed but in theory it would be accepted as a sign. Below is a simple wooden post with a paper sign covered with a plastic bag to prevent the rain or irrigation washing away the letters. Again a very simple cost-effective solution and nothing complicated information on the signs should be coordinated with information on the map in order to allow the inspector to carry out the necessary traceability tests at the time of audit.

Simple signs

The signs which indicate that a pesticide has been applied and that workers should not re-enter the greenhouse were made with a computer printout and laminated plastic. The date can be written in with the same kind of pens that you would use on a flipchart and can be simply rubbed off after the re-entry period has passed and it is safe to take the sign away. Again a very simple and cost-effective solution

Well organised and clean

Chemical stores must be well organised and clean. Here a simple set of shelves are well organised with powders stored above liquids, clean floor and emergency equipment such as sand provided for spillages. An inventory record of all chemicals coming in and out of the building will be required in most cases this is simply good housekeeping and given the cost of artificial fertilisers and chemicals is rising it is important to make sure that they are stored and used efficiently as a matter of good financial management as much as good agricultural practice.

Simple facilities

Farmworkers need facilities but those facilities only have to be functional and do not have to be overcomplicated. This facility provides showers for workers to clean protective clothing after spraying as they simply enter the shower wearing the protective equipment and wash it. Although this provides an incredibly basic facility it would be certifiable and acceptable

Simple facilities

The standard requires that hand washing facilities are available for all workers that are handling fresh produce. In this case from Kenya clean water is brought to the workers in a simple barrel and mounted on a wooden platform. Important aspect in this picture is that the water is clearly labelled as suitable for hand washing and drinking. Although the workers and the farmer will clearly know that this is the drinking water because they use it every day the sign must be the to show the auditor that the system is in place and should any new workers or strangers be on the farm it will guard against accidents.

Simple soil and water maps

Here is an example of a soil map and water map combined into a single document. The farmer has not the fields which have light soils and heavy soils and has marked where the rivers and water extraction points are located. Arrows pointing in a particular direction show which way the water runs off of the field and where the water accumulates into ponds or puddles this map is perfectly acceptable for certification because it demonstrates that the former has undertaken a survey of his farm, considered the risks of soil erosion or water pollution and will undertake his farming tasks to alleviate any problems that have been discovered.

Clear health and safety for workers

Here is a simple first-aid box and a home-made sign informing workers that it is here it is common to find these boxes are empty or poorly maintained and in some cases are simply used for another purpose such as storing other items. Farmers often look the boxes to prevent workers stealing the contents but then you have to ask the question what happens when they need what is inside them for certification purposes first aid boxes must be accessible and fully stocked with the basic items but it can be as simple as hanging a box on the wall as in this case

Good information – clearly displayed

Good information clearly displayed is essential. Here is a list of banned pesticides that has been covered in polythene and put on the wall in an area where crops are received. Where you have many farmers in a corporative (option two) it is important to keep everyone informed at all times. Having clearly displayed information helps the auditor to understand that you are in control of your products and processes and that you are communicating with the farmers in your group.


• Some testing will need to be done in an accredited laboratory such as water

• Some tests can be done by local agricultural experts or by the farmer themselves – such as soil nutrients

Despite all of the simple examples given before there are some specialist services that will need to be done by a trained professional or an external service. Initial soil testing for substances such as heavy metals, radiation or other forms of contamination will need to be done by licensed specialist contractors and a certificate of conformity issued. However this is likely to be a single test and subsequent testing for nutritional status of the soil can be done by a trained farmer or farmworker. Again the important thing here is that the training is recorded so that the auditor knows the person who made the test is qualified to produce the right result. The test result is then recorded so that when the fertiliser is applied it can be proved it was the right amount. Water testing for quality and contamination purposes is usually done by accredited laboratories and as I mentioned earlier is particularly important to make sure that laboratories are suitable for purpose and are able to return samples quickly and efficiently. It is important that producers are able to prove that laboratories are competent and recognised as being qualified.

• What will happen?

• Option 1

– the auditor will spend the day at the farm inspecting the facilities and the records.

– The auditor will want to follow a crop from preparation and seeding through to harvest

• Option 2

– The auditor will take the Square Root of the number of producers and audit them against the internal audit records

Preparing for an audit

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When the auditor arrives in the farm they will undertake an opening meeting to explain what will happen and what they will need throughout the day. Usually the auditor will spend the first part of the day looking at the documentation and making sure that all of the aspects of the system are in place. It is common practice to choose one crop and follow it through its life through the paperwork trail. For example the auditor will want to see the soil analysis, the planting, the spraying records and the harvesting records that links the crop from seed to storage or sale. An inspection of the facilities on the premises will be undertaken which will include looking at key equipment such as sprayers, fertiliser applicators and harvesting machinery. The auditor will expect to see certificates of calibration and maintenance for all of the important machinery on the farm which proves that the correct volumes of chemicals are being applied and that hygiene practices are being observed. Particular attention will be paid to personal protective equipment such as spraying masks, protective clothing like rubber boots and gloves

• How much does it cost per year ?

1. Producer registration fee varies but is around €50 to €100 depending on the farm size and type

2. Certificate fee is around €25

Fees for the certification body will be around €700 per day spent on the farm

Preparing for an audit

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There are lots of different variations on the cost of an audit and a lot will depend on how big is the farm, where it is located and if the auditor has to travel from outside of the country and may need accommodation. In general there are three aspects to the fees. The global gap registration fee and the certification fee are collected by the certification body and paid to global gap to help maintain the database and the records so that your certificate is validated and accessible by those who wish to see it. The second part and the main part of the cost is to pay for the auditor to travel to the farm, make the inspection and submit the results. Different certification bodies will charge different fees for the service. Being able to cooperate so that an auditor can visit a particular area for several days and undertake multiple audits is a good idea because the cost of travel and efficiency of the audit can be better controlled. This is a good example where working with your certification bodies nationally and keeping them informed of future demand, seasonality and trying to coordinate groups of producers will allow you to negotiate better rates and get a better service from your certification body .

Opportunities for Ukraine Opportunities to influence and participate

• Technical working groups developing the standard

• Attending the conferences and stakeholder meetings

• Developing a national technical working group

• Sponsoring or exhibiting at a GlobalGap conference

• Invite them to make a study tour of Ukraine

Opportunities for Ukraine Gap

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Many of the major producers around the world are represented in the technical working groups but many use the global gap conferences and meetings to make potential customers aware of the products and that they have groups of competent certified farmers. Because most of the major supermarkets, traders, manufacturers, and food service companies are members of global gap this is a great opportunity to meet your potential customers and make them aware of your products. Sponsoring or exhibiting at global gap conferences is a very focused and targeted way of meeting the right people in a very short space of time. Global gap is always keen to welcome new regions and new countries and quite often publicises this on their own website and through their own newsletters which again target potential clients and customers. Inviting global gap to Ukraine to hold seminars, workshops or to meet with ministry officials and public bodies also builds trust and capacity on both sides.

• Benchmarking

– Benchmarking is the process where the national standard of Ukraine would be measured against the GlobalGap standard and recognised as equivalent.

– All aspects of governance, management and arming criteria would be cross referenced and assessed by an independent process

– Benefits include the ability to include other specific criteria that are of concern or advantage for Ukraine

– The disadvantage is that the standard must be owned and developed rigorously and has costs associated with both the development and ongoing management of the standard

Opportunities for Ukraine Gap

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For countries that have well-established communities of producers with good experience of certification is often the case that they develop a national standard of their own. Examples of this would be South Africa, Israel, UK where the national standard is well established and well-known. In many cases the national standards have much more content and many more criteria than good agricultural practice and may include aspects such as environment protection, animal welfare, wildlife conservation and climate change. In this case benchmarking which is comparing the national standard to global gap is a formal process of matching the criteria side-by-side. If global gap are satisfied that the national standard is equivalent to the global gap standard and global gap will recognise the national standard under the benchmarking scheme. In this case international companies that recognise global gap certification will also recognise farmers that have the national certification that is benchmarked to global gap.

• Independent with multiple benchmarks

• Faces both EU and US regulations

• Is marketing and competing through technical compliance and not just science based certification

ChileGap

Here is an example of one of the most well-established national association standards. For an international producer like Chile there are many regulations both European and American that they must meet. By combining all of these regulations into a single standard and managing those as a national code of practice they are able to service all of the international clients under a single certification. In this case it makes sense for Chile to operate a national standard and be benchmarked. In the case of Kenya where almost all of the certification was done for export to European supermarkets there was very little point in creating a national standard because the criteria needed was exactly that of global gap. In the case of Kenya Gap it was never really successful because the producers preferred to have direct global gap certification.

Building national capacityBuilding expertise and national capacity

• There are many consultants and experts who can help develop standards both for national associations and for individual farms

• GlobalGap has an approved register of trainers called Farm assurers

• Farm Assurers are independent, GLOBALG.A.P. trained and approved consultants who provide expertise to help producers implement Good Agricultural Practices.

• With first-hand knowledge about the GLOBALG.A.P. System and the latest industry developments, they make the standard easier to understand and help simplify audit preparations.

Professional help

Most farmers and producers would prefer to be growing crops or raising livestock than sitting at a desk creating forms to fill in, drawing farm maps or having management meetings. However these records and administration tasks particularly at the start are absolutely essential to receiving global gap certification. There are many international consultants that advertise their services and now global gap have introduced a system to recognise licensed farm assurance experts who can create templates, systems and train workers to use them in a way that will be recognised by the auditors. These are independent professionals who have been trained by global gap and are required to keep up-to-date with the very latest changes and all aspects of the standard. By far the most efficient method is to build local capacity of professionals that know about farming in Ukraine both the culture and the challenges and can adapt their advice accordingly.

Summary and next stepsWorking together to promote Ukraine and to maximise certification efficiency

• Arrange meetings and ensure that all the public bodies, chemical companies and certification bodies are in place and meet the GlobalGap and international requirements such as :

• Accreditation• Certification• Laboratories• Pesticide registration• Supermarkets like Billa

Summary and next steps

In summary private certification works best when the industry comes together to create a critical mass of producers that want to be certified. There are so many aspects that must work together both public and private to make certification efficient and cost-effective that cooperation and coordination is essential. It is possible that some of the larger producers can get an international certification body to come and inspect processes and becomes certified. But in reality there is very little competitive advantage in the long term because most producers in Ukraine are not competing with their neighbours for markets but they are competing with other producing nations. Cooperation to achieve certification in the most cost-effective way for the largest amount of producers is a long-term strategy where everyone will benefit and Ukraine will be recognised as an attractive source of product in an uncertain global market. This corporation needs to include public bodies, producer groups, laboratories, fertiliser and chemical companies and even end-users such as supermarkets like Billa

• Arrange for some well developed producers and experts to attend the Farm assurers course. It is a good idea to have consultants and farmers train together.

• Develop a train the trainers program and build some national capacity

• Undertake some test audits on well developed farms and look for the problems so that the associations can focus on upgrading where issues arise

• Share your results and knowledge through workshops and seminars


There are some producers who have already achieved the certification and there are consultancy companies in Ukraine that have help them to achieve that going forward there is a need to develop national capacity, share information and experiences and coordinate this activity.

• Send a group to the GlobalGap conference and get to know the system

• Invite GlobalGap to come to Ukraine and hold a regional event

• Join the technical work groups and participate because it will attract attention to your country and to your producers with the largest buyers in the EU


Although the cost of conferences are high it is possible to send a small delegation that will report back on behalf of the wider group. An approach to global gap directly that outlines the ambitions, plans and activities that work towards global gap certification would certainly be well received and may lead to some concessions being made with regard to costs. Being up to present a case study or bring out present your national plan at the global gap conference would certainly be a good publicity opportunity for those larger companies who have the technical capacity the opportunity to participate in technical working groups and to represent Ukraine in those discussions is valuable in the long term. Participating in working groups means that you know what is coming in the future and you’re able to prepare ahead of time rather than wait for the standard to be published.

Questions ?Thank You !

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