Over the last year, GLOBALG.A.P. has been coordinating the revision of its flagship Integrated Farm Assurance (IFA) standard, as well as other GLOBALG.A.P. rules, standards, and add-ons. But where are we now, and what happens next?

The journey in brief

To begin with, the technical committees and focus groups evaluated the current version (v5) and approved structural changes to simplify the standards. Two public consultation periods then took place, during which all stakeholders were invited to review the latest drafts of the new standards. As part of these consultation periods, we hosted a total of 120 World Consultation Tour webinars with nearly 700 participants. GLOBALG.A.P. has received over 2,500 comments on the draft documents so far. Now, the latest documents are entering a third public consultation phase and beginning field trials to test the standards on the ground.

Next steps

Field trials put the theory into practice  and, as such, are an extremely important step in the development of new standards and versions. We invite all producers, consultants, and certification bodies to take part in the field trials and report back on the language, content, and levels of the presented principles and criteria. You can find out all you need to know about taking part in the field trials here.

Further documents are also entering the third public consultation phase, including GRASP v3 and the ‘GLOBALG.A.P. General Regulations’. You can find the documents and comment forms here.

Introducing our smart solutions

At Fruit Logistica 2020, GLOBALG.A.P. outlined three key aims for the new standards: simplification, a risk-based approach, and customized checklists. To fulfil these aims, GLOBALG.A.P. is introducing innovative new systems and services which will help bring our portfolio of farm assurance solutions into the digital era.

The four pillars of our smart farm assurance solutions are:

  • Smarter standards, including the new and improved version of IFA (version 6)
  • Smarter systems and services through eliminating inefficiencies and improving the integrity of the system with GLOBALG.A.P. Audit Online Hub and Validation Service
  • Smarter integration of data both for suppliers to show conformance and improvement and for buyers to have transparency through interoperable IT systems
  • A smarter approach to sustainability with a continuous improvement program, a dedicated biodiversity add-on, and stronger environmental criteria

To find out more details about how our smart solutions will be integrated into our standards and services, and for answers to all your frequently asked questions, please see here.

We are excited to continue this journey and look forward to seeing our smart solutions move forward with you!