Good Agricultural Practices (GAP): Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) are practices that ensure environmental, economical & social sustainability for on-farm practices (and post production practices) resulting in safe and quality food and non-food agricultural products. -FAO

1. Produce Safety
Good Agricultural Practices
(GAPs)
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Md. Abdul Momin Sheikh
Assistant Professor
Department of Food Engineering and Technology
Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University Dinajpur

2. Objectives
After this session, participants will be able to:
• What is GAP?
• Why have GAPs?
• Why it is so important?
• Overview of GAP implementation points
• GAP benefits and Mail Challenges
• List of GAP component technologies
• Major constraints for GAP adoption
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3. What is GAP?
 GAP are practices that ensure
environmental, economical & social
sustainability for on-farm practices (and
post production practices) resulting in
safe and quality food and non-food
agricultural products. -FAO
 Developed by the food industry, producer
organizations, governments & NGOs,
aiming to codify agricultural practices at
farm level

4.  Application Practices that:
• Improve safety & efficacy
• May be generic or specific to application
method, chemical
 Developed by registrants, growers, applicators,
and EPA
 Many already on labels
 Must document in Fumigant Management Plan
and/or Post Application Summary to show
compliance
What are GAPs?
Module 4: Good Agricultural Practices

5.  Why GAP??
 Consumption of fresh produce steadily
increasing for health.
 Increases in the number of produce
associated with food borne disease
outbreaks in the country.
 A variety of fruits and vegetables
implicated-- domestic and imported
 Pathogens normally associated with
animal origin on fruits and vegetables

6. Why have GAPs?
 Ensure that all applicators follow the same
standards
 Reduce potential for:
• bystander & handler exposure to emissions
from soil fumigants
• accidents
 Improve efficacy of soil fumigation.
Module 4: Good Agricultural Practices

7. GAP Include
 • Water • A)Agriculture • B)Processing •
Manure, Compost and Other similar
Fertilizers • Sanitary Facility • Field
Sanitation • Packing Facility Sanitation •
Transportation • Trace back

8. Why it is so important?
 Growers- GAP
 Processors-GMP
 Retailer –GHP
 Consumer

9. Produce Contamination Sources
• Water, manure, and soil
• Insects, rodents, and other wild life
• Equipment cross contamination
• Human handling
• Chemicals and pesticides
• Physical hazards (glass, plastic, wood,
etc.)
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10. Overview of GAP implementation
points
1. Workers 2. Land
3. Crop 4. Water
5. Animal 6. Fertilizers and Agro-chemical
7. Harvest and Transport 8. Traceability
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11. Principle 1: Water Source
Principle 1: Water Source
• Use safe drinking water
– When in contact with plant or produce
– When harvest washing produce
• Use surface water source (example: ponds)
– When not in contact with plant or produce
– Use for drip irrigation
– Test for fecal coliforms and/or E.coli prior to use
• Test soil for coliforms in frequently flooded farm
land
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12. Principle 2: Manure Use and Handling
• Composted manure
• Aged manure
• Location of manure
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13. Raw Manure
Is raw manure incorporated at least 2 weeks prior
to planting or 120 days prior to harvest?
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Planting Harvest
14 Days 120 Days

14. Principle 3: Worker Health and Hygiene
Principle 4: Sanitary Facilities
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15. Principle 5: Field Sanitation
• Harvest containers cleaned and sanitized
• Equipment cleaned periodically
• Avoid soil or unsafe water contamination
• Create reasonable barriers to animals
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16. Principle 6: Packing Facility Sanitation
• Good handling practices (SOPs)
• Avoid cross contamination with equipment
or animals (wild and domestic birds)
• Pest prevention program
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17. Principle 7: Transportation
• Maintain temperatures
• Maintain refrigeration units (check for
leaks)
• Load trucks to prevent damage
• Clean transport vehicles regularly
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18. Principle 8: Traceability
• One step back; one step forward
• Date of harvest/pack date
• Field identification (may be color coded)
• Worker identification
• Recordkeeping
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19. GAP benefits
 • GAP benefits are: -food quality & safety
improvement -facilitating market access -
reduction in non-compliance risks re.
permitted pesticides, MRLs & other
contamination hazards
 Main challenges: -increase in production
cost like recordkeeping, residue testing &
certification -Inadequate access to
information and support services

20. List of GAP component technologies
• Land clearing • Tillage • Bunding • Preflooding
• Puddling • Levelling
• Cultivar choice • Certified seeds • Nursery
sowing
• Planting method • Thinning/Gap-filling •
Fertiliser application (using RiceAdvice)
• Weeding • Flooding • Drainage • …. etc.
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21. What are your options?
• Require a formal GAPs audit
• Require self-assessment checklist
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22. GAPs Resources
• GAP Websites
– FDA, Cornell, Penn State, UC Davis, and others
• Extension Offices
• State Agricultural Departments
• Health Departments
• Farm to school
• Other farmers
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23. Who initiated the GAP as a Standard?
• 1. EurepGAP, initiated in 1997, by European
Retailers, and other members of input and services
side of Agriculture.
• 2. First version released in Europe in 2001.
• 3. EurepGAP standard is designed to reassure
consumers
• – about how food is produced on farm by
minimizing detrimental environmental impacts of
Farming operations,
• – reducing the use of chemical inputs
• – ensuring responsible approach to worker health
and safety as well as animal welfare.
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24. GAPs Activity
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25. GAPs Activity
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26. GAPs Activity
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27. GAPs Activity
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28. GAPs Activity
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29. GAPs Activity
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30. GAPs Activity
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31. GAPs Activity
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32. GAPs Activity
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33. GAPs Activity
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34. Major constraints for GAP adoption
• Limited knowledge of producers on
importance of GAP
• Accessibility and availability of GAP
component technologies (e.g. Certified seeds &
Fertilizers)
• Lack of enough extension personals & support
• Lack of large scale effort for technology
dissemination
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35. Summary
Good Agricultural Practices:
 Minimize exposure from emissions
 Increase safety and efficacy of applications
 May be generic, or specific to a chemical or
application method
 Many on labels as recommendations, more
will be mandatory
 Must be documented in FMPs and/or post-
application summaries
Module 4: Good Agricultural Practices

36. Questions and Discussion
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