1. Loretta Sonn, FAO Agriculture Department
Good Agricultural Practices standards : a Way Towards
Safe and Sustainable Agriculture?
Loretta Sonn, FAO Agriculture Department
Wageningen Seminar on Certification and Regulations for Food Safety, 31 May 2005
good morning
ASP – most know me
am going to present to you some bakcground and what we came up with as our working concept for GAP
basically drawn from the Working concept doc

2. 1. World Challenges
so with these developments happening , what about FAO
starting working more closely on the issue about 2-3 years ago with the development of a b c

3. Over 800 millions undernourished

4. Human-induced soil degradation in the world

5. Certification and standards of GAP
for whom... where do we want to go ?

6. Agriculture challenge in the XXIst century
How to make agricultural systems
in developing countries
more sustainable, in a world where food supply chains
are ever more globalized?

7. Developments in Ag. Sector
Demand by consumers, retailers, processors
Food safety, quality, nutrition
Environmental impact of agriculture
Response by farmers adopting practices/codes
Improve livelihoods
Support by governments and institutions
Regulations
Sustainable agriculture policies
Research, extension, education, credit, infrastructure
What are different stakeholders doing about it ?

8. GAP: evolution of concept
For decades: extension and research guidelines on “good practices”
More recent trend: GAP in food markets - growing number of “GAP” codes & standards - privatization of standards
Renewed attention as entry point for food safety & quality in food chain
So how does GAP fit in this
and what is new under the sun

9. Simple assumption behind the multiplication of GAP standards…
Good production practices at farm level can make a big difference
the simple assumption for this renewed interest in GAP is that :
... in contributing to meeting the challenges for ag in the 21st cent

10. Can codes support sustainable ag.?
Private certification and standards (e.g.: EUREP, retail…)
Competitive advantage - not all farmers can meet
Focus more on impact on product than on sustainability
Public legislation and policies (e.g. : int’l, extension, research)
Society-driven – broader sustainability priorities
Int’l public good or local, small farmer-adapted
But lack financial resources
Fair trade, organic
A mix of both
Provide capacity building. Environmental and social aspects
But market share may be limited in longer term
I will not expand too much on this after andrew s presentation but One can broadly distinguish
(SKIP THIS SLIDE IF HE USED IT)

11. Micro level Farmers incentives to adopt
Economic: price premium, market access; access to inputs; stabilize yield, increase productivity, reduce losses, increase farm asset value...
Regulatory/Legal: ascertain property rights to scare resources; reduce liability...
Human/social capital: expand skill sets, reduce community tensions...
why should farmers adopt GAP
i\ncentives will of course vary depending on the contents of the Gap codes and so will disencentives,
but we can mention
....

12. … which means
… that farmers have many incentives to apply GAPs whether or not that gives them access to segregated markets or price premiums
which means what ? that.....
(I would invite to check the annex of the Working concept doc which is drawn from the very interesting paper on the range of incentives prepared for the EC last year?

13. Micro level - Problems Too many standards and codes
Opportunities, but hard for small farmers to meet standards (cost, investments, paperwork) & certification fees
Not always a price premium
Different scopes of GAP
Are food safety/quality and food security/sustainability GAPs compatible or contradictory?
so – any problem ?
yes, because many concerns are raised about the multiplication of GAP-related standards
Wide scope of activities related to food safety, food quality, env impacs, healther impacts(farm labour), …

14. Macro level - Challenges Facing Developing Countries
• ‘Traditional’ competitiveness factors (macroeconomic stability, productivity, logistics, reliability) haven’t gone away !
• ... they are frequently as/more important as standards in determining participation and outcomes
• Tightening/proliferation of standards coinciding with significant downward international price pressures
• Standards reinforce other strengths and weaknesses at production unit and supply chain levels

15. Macro level - Challenges Facing Developing Countries(2)
Alignment/harmonization with int’l/EU/US official standards is only a preliminary part of the challenge
Private safety, quality, and social requirements typically more demanding and more consistently enforced than public SPS standards (both int’l and domestic)

16. Macro level Special issues for poor/ very small countries
Generally weak technical/admin capacities
• Lack of budgetary resources
• Difficulty of determining/prioritizing needs
• Little support from international buyers
• Exceptionally vulnerable to crisis
• Need regional arrangements ?

17. 2. And FAO…? Development of a GAP Approach
so with these developments happening , what about FAO
starting working more closely on the issue about 2-3 years ago with the development of a b c

18. a. Definition of a GAP approach
addressing economic, environmental and social sustainability inclusive of food safety and quality
focusing on GAP-primary production (whilst considering the supply chain and institutional context) more than GMP/GHP, etc
taking account voluntary and regulatory aspects
within a given incentive and agro-ecology context

19. b. “Global Principles of GAP”
Form 11 components of ag. practices
Identify hazards to be avoided
Identify outcomes to be promoted
= Provide a basis for the development
of codes of practice for individual
production systems

20. c. Country level assistance
Support translation of principles into locally appropriate practices and indicators
1- Knowledge (policies, ag. practices, impacts)
2- Facilitate multistakeholder negotiations on GAPs for a commodity/farming system
3- Capacity building

21. 3. Lessons learnt - Strategy
Be strategic: some crops have more impacts and potential than others
Focus on improvement: encourage innovation, not compliance
Focus on the most serious impacts: 8-10 activities cause most environmental impacts
Be open: not enough effort made to collect/adapt lessons from around the world

22. Lessons learnt - Stakeholders
Work with producers, consumers, markets and governments
Work with drivers of change
Farmers & communities create most GAPs
400 buyers are key: need to engage industry

23. Lessons learnt - Incentives
Target farmer incentives and disencentives when designing GAP programmes
GAPs increase product quality & reduce risk; GAP can work without market incentives
Most GAP pay for themselves, though not all
Different agro-ecologies, institutional and market contexts = different GAP priorities

24. …thank you for your attention
hope this has provided useful background info to inform your discussions.