GlobalGAP certification for farms and producer groups

What GLOBALG.A.P. covers and what we deliver

GLOBALG.A.P. is the most widely used farm assurance standard in international trade. Retailers and importers in many countries require it from growers of fruit, vegetables, flowers, crops and other farm products, as evidence that produce is grown safely, with care for workers and the environment.

The Integrated Farm Assurance standard covers the whole production process on the farm: site history and management, soil and substrate, water use and quality, plant protection products and residues, fertilizers, harvest and post-harvest handling, hygiene, traceability and segregation, worker health, safety and welfare, and environmental protection. Each certified producer receives a unique GLOBALG.A.P. number that buyers can check in the public database.

Our role is to help you meet the control points, prepare records and run an internal inspection, then arrange the certification inspection with an approved certification body.

• Gap analysis against the control points that apply to your crops
• Support on risk assessments for site, water, hygiene and plant protection
• Record templates for spraying, fertilizing, harvest and traceability
• Internal inspection or internal audit before certification
• Arrangement of the inspection with an approved certification body

Many growers already keep most of the information the standard asks for, in notebooks, invoices or spray diaries. Part of our work is turning that into consistent records an inspector can follow quickly, without adding paperwork that nobody will keep up.

Food safety on the farm is treated seriously: microbial risks from irrigation water, manure and compost, and hygiene of harvest workers and equipment are assessed and controlled, because fresh produce is often eaten raw.

Individual farm or producer group: the two options

Under option 1, an individual producer or a company with several farms is certified directly. Each production site is inspected by the certification body, and the producer carries out an annual self-assessment.

Under option 2, a producer group, such as a cooperative or an exporter working with many smallholders, runs a quality management system and inspects its members internally. The certification body then audits the group's system and inspects a sample of members. This makes certification affordable for small farms that could not carry the cost alone.

Many retailers also ask for add-ons on top of the core standard, such as a social practice assessment for worker welfare. Ask your buyers which add-ons they require, since they affect preparation and inspection time.

For producer groups, the internal system is the heart of certification: a member register, signed member agreements, trained internal inspectors, an internal inspection of every member each year and sanctions for members who do not comply. If the group system is weak, the whole group certificate is at risk.

What decides the price

GLOBALG.A.P. consultancy with EUROTECH starts at $2,000. The final price depends on your number of employees, the complexity of your processes and the scope of certification.

• Option 1 or option 2, and the number of producers in a group
• Crops and products in scope, and post-harvest handling
• Number of production sites and their distance from each other
• Add-ons required by buyers
• Starting point: existing records or building from scratch

Registration and licence fees payable to GLOBALG.A.P. through the certification body are separate charges set by the scheme.

Packhouse handling adds time, because washing, grading, packing and cold storage bring their own hygiene, water and traceability checks.

Groups with many small members spread over a wide area need more time, because internal inspection planning and sampling take longer.