Globalgap (Good Agricultural Practice Standard)
Globalgap Good Agricultural Practices Standard in the European Retail Sector, Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) protocol of the European Retailer Agricultural Products Working Group. In 1999, a special association was established in central Germany for profit-making purposes. The purpose of this scheme is to determine the minimum standards for agricultural products grown in their own country and imported from abroad in order to ensure that large retailers in the European Union countries are able to consume healthy agricultural products in their own communities.
Globalgap Certified farmers, by the way, think this way, they ensure that the agricultural products they produce are of higher quality, are produced and exported to the countries that they export. Especially in recent years there have been significant problems in terms of agricultural drug remnants in the export of agriculture products in our country. This situation has affected the image of Turkish agricultural products in negative direction and many of our products exported abroad have returned. The Globalgap Certificate has been preferred by many manufacturers since it has lifted the risk of encountering these types of negativities and an important step has been taken for Turkey.
Globalgap supports the continued development of agro-related methods and technologies based on the principles of HACCP, Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and Integrated Crop Management (ICM). With the Globalgap Certificate; It does not adversely affect the people involved in production or other living things during production, that it does not contain chemical, physical and microbiological residues harmful to human health, that it is produced without harming the environment and without harming the natural balance, that the processing of the country where the consumer is grown and the product is grown, .
As a result; Given that retailers in Europe are importing from anywhere in the world, food safety has increased even more, as competition among themselves has also increased. Therefore, in order to remain permanently in the market, they need to guarantee and guarantee customers that their products on their shelves will not be harmful. HACCP, BRC, IFS, GlobalGap Certificates provide the guarantees and guarantees that retailers need. The reason for the emergence of this kind of standard lies in the importance of protecting the “brand value”. In terms of retailers; Customer pressures and perceptions, media pressures and analyzes, legal obligations, and the decline in sales. HACCP, BRC, IFS, GlobalGap Certificates have become a commercial “ticket” to be a prerequisite for being a supplier to many companies and generally including the minimum food safety requirements desired.
Globalgap Protocol
This protocol prepared by the GlobalGap commission was translated into Turkish and presented in the following material.
T: Recommended Practice
Z: Compulsory Application
- RECORDING
1 a. Record Keeping
Producers should keep a record of their activities so that they can verify the chain from the site of manufacture to the last consumer so that they can prove that they are in good Agricultural Practice (ATU) as specified in this protocol. Records prepared in accordance with the procedure should be stored for at least 5 years unless otherwise requested. Admissions do not require prior registration. (Z)
2. TYPES AND HOSTS
2 a. Type or Root Selection
Manufacturers must recognize the importance of effective product cultivation in relation to the main product. For example, the beneficial results of reducing the use of pesticides in seed potato production can only be seen in products grown thereafter. (T)
The selection of varieties and rootstocks should provide the requisite quality standards (eg, taste, appeal, shelf life, agricultural performance, environmental impact, least dependence on agricultural chemicals) agreed between producers and potential customers. (Z)
2.b. Seed Quality
Seed quality and germination rates should be checked before seed use. Variety name, lot number, seed company information should be found in the product records. Seed certificate should be stored in possible situations. (T)
2.c. Pest and Disease Resistance / Tolerance
Varieties must have certain strengths / tolerances against commercially harmful pests and diseases. (T)
The producers should be aware of the sensitivity of the variety they grow to harm and diseases. (Z)
2.d. Seed Applications
Seed applications can be used as a very effective method to control diseases and pests. With the seed spraying method, both less drug use and less drug substance can be used. Seed spraying, on the other hand, can be considered as a preferred option when spraying is not effective.
Seed applications must be evaluated. Seed application should be the preferred alternative when there is a choice of seed application or leaf application in the control of a disease or harmful one. (Z)
2.e. Sapling Material
The purchased seed should have official plant health quality certificates, ie plant passports, recognized by similar institutions in the European Union Plant Protection Office or in countries outside the European Economic Community. (Z)
The seedlings should be clear from visible diseases and harmful. (T)
Documents of quality guarantee or production certificate guarantee must be kept in product records. (Z)
Plant health quality control systems should be applicable for reproduction of non-farm (private) or farm plant material. (Z)
Records of the pesticides applied during the growth stages of the seedlings should be kept. (Z)
2.f. Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)
In any GMO production, the regulations that exist in the producer country and the countries where the final consumer is must be observed. (Z)
Before the planting or planting of GMO varieties, an agreement must be reached with the customers individually. (Z)
Sellers are required to inform all potential customers of developments in the production or use of genetically modified products. (Z)
3. HISTORY AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE AREA OF GROWING
3 a. History of Aquaculture
A permanent registration system must be maintained for each land, each garden, or each greenhouse, including information on products grown there and agricultural activities. (Z)
A visual identification or reference system should be developed for each terrain, each garden, or each greenhouse. (Z)
For all new areas, a risk assessment should be made for similar or other products, taking into account their prior use. (Z)
A management plan should be developed that demonstrates the strategies to be applied to minimize the identified risks (eg the pollution of groundwater by the applied pesticides). The results of these analyzes must be passed on to the records; When the question is asked why the area is suitable for use as an agricultural land, healthy and satisfactory causes should be revealed. (Z)
3.b. Rotational Aquaculture (Rotations)
In order to protect soil health, reduce dependence on pesticides, and ensure maximum plant health, producers must apply the need for alternate breeding in conceptual and appropriate situations. (Z)
Where transitional breeding is not done, breeders should be able to show a valid reason. (Z)
4. SOIL AND SUBSTRAT MANAGEMENT
4.a. Soil Type Mapping
Land maps should be prepared for farm land. These maps can be used for planning alternate cultivation, cropping and aquaculture programs. (T)