The Establishment of National GAP Programs 1

2 Purpose of the Module To present an overview of developments with the implementation of national GAP programs within the ASEAN region

3 Outcome of the Module Participants will learn the experiences of establishment of national GAP programs of selected countries

4 Overview of the Module - The alignments of national GAP programs to ASEAN GAP fro FFV - The recommended process for developing new national GAP programs

5 Introduction Based on the study conducted and presented in the Training Course on ASEAN GAP for FFV during FEB 2008 in Thailand at the AVRDC-Asian Regional Centre, it found that Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines have aligned their national GAP Programs with safety module of ASEAN GAP for FFV while the alignment with the other three modules, namely the Environmental management, Worker’s health, safety and welfare, and Produce quality varies depending on the objectives of their national programs. Partial alignment exists because many Practices used to manage food safety also have benefits for produce quality and protection of the environment and workers.

6 All of those programs are voluntary and managed by government departments in each country. The government provides all of associated services- administration, training, auditing and certification

7 All other ASEAN countries are at different stages of developments of national GAP programs.

8 GAP in Selected Countries

9 1. Malaysia The SALM-Skim Amalan Ladang Baik Malaysia or Good Agriculture Practice Scheme Malaysia developed in 2003 provides certification for farm that use GAP to produce safe, quality produce and prevent harm to the environment and worker health, safety and welfare.

10 SALM Certification requires compliance with 16 elements, which are based on the GLOBALGAP standard. The practices in each element are classified as “major must” or “minor must” or “encouraged”. To achieve certification, all of the 29 “major musts” 95% of the “minor musts”, and 50% of the “encouraged” practices must be implemented.

11 2. Singapore The voluntary GAP-VF certification scheme was launched in It is aimed at the intensive vegetable farming sector. The scheme focuses on food safety and has six components-farm location, farm structure, farm environment, farm maintenance, farm practices/ methods/techniques, and farm management.

12 The GAP-VF logo is promoted to consumers to provide confidence that produce grown by certified farms is traceable and safe to eat.

13 3. Indonesia The GAP program in Indonesia was developed in It covers the production of fruit and vegetable crops to assure quality and safety for producers, consumers and the environment and the sustainability of the production system.

14 The program has 16 elements, which are based on the GLOBALGAP standard. The practices in each element are classified as “must” or “highly recommended” or “recommended”.

15 There are three levels of certification-Prime One for produce that is safe for consumption, good in quality and produced with environmentally friendly processes of technologies, Prime Two for produce that is safe for consumption and good in quality, and Prime Three for produce that is safe for consumption.

16 4. The Philippine The program for GAP for FV Farming was launched in The objectives are to increase market access in both local and foreign markets, empower farmers to respond to consumer demand for food safety and quality, and facilitate adoption of sustainable practices.

17 The program has six components-farm location, farm structure, farm environment, farm maintenance, farm practices and farm management.

18 5. Thailand The Q GAP Program was launched in 2003 to ensure that food crops produced in Thailand are safe, wholesome and meet the required standards. Q GAP has initially three levels-production processes for (1) safe products, (2) safe and pest-free products, and (3) safe, pest-free and quality products.

19 To help guide farmers, the Thai Department of Agriculture has developed 28 crop manuals that describes practices required to improve yield, quality and food safety. Topics include varieties, cultivation, fertilizing, irrigation, crop sanitation, crop protection, safe pesticide use, harvesting, transportation and record keeping.

20 The Q GAP Mark is promoted to supply chain customers and to customers to provide confidence that produce grown by certified farms is safe to eat.

21 In 2008, the Agricultural Standards Act has been promulgated to be a legal framework in which standards for farm produces will be established, certified and controlled. Initially, the established standards will be implemented voluntarily. However, mandatory standards will be implemented where circumstances on food safety and its public concerns are so required.

22 The accreditation and certification for agricultural standards are also regulated by this and other relevant laws. Therefore, all of the Q GAP program implementing before the enactment of this law shall be transited thereto and enforced by this law.

23 6. Vietnam VietGAP was officially released on 28th January 2008 where the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has decided to drive the development of a national Vietnam GAP system; called VietGAP. VietGAP is based on the ASEAN GAP model but was also designed to meet the specific needs of the Vietnamese fresh fruit and vegetables industry.

24 VietGAP consists of twelve sections including the Site assessment and selection, Planting material, Soil and substrates, Fertilisers and soil additives, Water, Chemicals, Harvesting and handling produce, Waste management and treatment, Workers and training, Documents, records, traceability and recall, Internal audit and Complaint and resolve complaint of fresh fruit and vegetables on farm which are in line with four modules of ASEAN GAP for FFV namely food safety, environmental management, worker health, safety and welfare, and produce quality.

25 The Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the Vietnamese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (VAAS) were nominated to develop a national GAP system for Vietnam.

26 Developing New National GAP Programs

27 Based on the experiences of member countries who have implemented a national GAP program, the following steps are critical to developing a national GAP program: 1. Gain high level support from policy makers in government to develop a national GAP program.

28 2. Prepare and submit proposal including situation analysis, options, priorities, budget and action plan for establishing GAP program to Department Executive. 3. Assemble implementation team and engage expertise and collaborators (provinces, other departments, local government) to provide support. 4. Inform stakeholders of proposal and seek support.

29 5. Complete situation analysis (scan external and internal environment, including review of other national GAP programs and ASEAN GAP. 6. Design structure and develop action plan for implementation, and gain support from key decision makers-roles and responsibilities, management process, scope of standard, certification and auditing, communication, training and finance. 7. Develop code of practice (standard) in consultation with key stakeholders (align to ASEAN GAP)

30 8. Test code of practice on demonstration farms and modify as required. 9. Establish a legal framework for GAP program. 10. Establish management body and administration processes. 11. Establish processes for accreditation of certification bodies and auditing of farmers.

Establish infrastructure-eg analytical laboratories. 13. Inform producers about GAP program and process of certification (eg procedures and compliance criteria). 14. Train trainers, extension officers and auditors. 15. Launch and implement GAP Program. 16. Establish process for continuous review of GAP Program