On 26 April, GlobalGAP launched the revised Integrated Farm Assurance (IFA) standard version 6 and the GlobalGAP Risk Assessment on Social Practice (GRASP) add-on version 2. “It represents the first implementation stage of the new smart farm assurance solutions vision. The new products offer streamlined, impact-driven, and connected solutions for the entire sector”, says Juan Carlos Isaza, GlobalGAP’s Team Leader Standards & Technical - Senior Technical Expert Floriculture. In this article, more about the new versions of IFA and GRASP, but much more will be given in the webinars that will take place the end of May.
From left to right: Moderator Bianca Thomas, Managing Directors Dr. Kristian Moeller and Dr. Elmé Coetzer-Boersma, Vice Chairman of the GLOBALG.A.P. Advisory Board Dr. Leon Mol and Chairman of the GLOBALG.A.P. Advisory Board Guy Callebaut.
IFA v6 for flowers and ornamentals
GlobalGAP standards for flowers and ornamentals have been operational for almost 20 years and are developed through extensive collaboration with stakeholders throughout the sector. “IFA is tried, tested, and trusted across the globe, with GlobalGAP certified production processes covering over 47,000 hectares of floriculture production annually.”
But what is IFA for flowers and ornamentals? “It is a global standard for responsible floriculture practices that covers all stages of production, from preharvest activities such as soil and water management to plant protection products and postharvest activities. The standard adopts a holistic approach, with principles and criteria that cover the key topics of environmental sustainability and biodiversity, workers’ well-being, production processes, and traceability.”
And what is version 6? “It takes a new approach, introducing more rigorous sustainability requirements on greenhouse gases, ecosystem restoration, food waste, and more, as well as moving towards streamlined, customized checklists that reduce duplication and simplify the audit process at farm level”, she explains.
Farm-level social management with GRASP v2
GRASP, a farm level social management tool for global supply chains. has seen increased adoption across the sector, with over 110,000 producers in more than 90 countries successfully demonstrating compliance at the close of 2021. Version 2 of the add-on tackles some of the most pressing social issues facing the global supply chain including worker exploitation, child labor, and human rights. “GRASP can be assessed at the same time as the IFA audit, providing a cost-effective way for producers to demonstrate social responsibility practices and for retailers to transparently source products from operations that are aligned to their corporate social responsibility policies.”
Webinar series
GlobalGAP will be running a free smart farm assurance solutions webinar series on the updated product range. Focusing on the new versions of IFA and GRASP, the webinars will take an in-depth and scope-specific look at everything connected with the standard and add-on, including new and revised content, the two editions of IFA v6 (Smart and GFS), compliance requirements, GlobalGAP IT systems, and much more.
The sessions, conducted in English, Spanish, and German across several time zones, will provide the opportunity for all interested parties to learn directly from GlobalGAP technical experts about the transition to the new versions and the next two pillars of smart farm assurance solutions that will be rolled out over the course of the next year: Smarter systems and services and the smarter integration of data.
“Attending a webinar is the perfect first step if you are new to GlobalGAP . or unsure about committing to a full training session. Whether you are a producer seeking GlobalGAP certification, a consultant thinking about becoming a Registered Trainer, or a certification body looking for a concise overview of the new standards, we look forward to welcoming everyone.”
- IFA v6 for flowers and ornamentals, 9:00-10:30 a.m. CEST (English) 24 May 2022, Online
- IFA v6 for flowers and ornamentals, 9:00-10:30 a.m. CEST (German)
25 May 2022, Online - IFA v6 for flowers and ornamentals, 3:00-4:30 p.m. CEST (Spanish)
31 May 2022, Online - GRASP v2, 8:00-09:30 p.m. CEST (English)
31 May 2022, Online - GRASP v2, 3:00-04:30 p.m. CEST (Spanish)
25 May 2022, Online
For more information:
GlobalGAP
info@globalgap.org
www.globalgap.org