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Reflections on the Growing Influence of Good Agricultural Practices in the Global South

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Abstract

EurepGAP is a pioneering field level food safety protocol called ‘good agricultural practices’ currently exercising influence over the global food quality assurance system. Developed by a consortium of major European retailers, this private standard enforces codes of conduct that address issues of health and safety for producers and consumers, as well as working conditions and environmental management on the farmland. Despite various merits and benefits that the standard is premised to offer, the institutional design gives a financial edge to powerful large farms and exporters while diminishing opportunities for smaller growers and exporters to remain in the profitable agricultural export sector of the Global South. This paper explores the institutional origin and evolution of EurepGAP, discusses entry barriers and risks that EurepGAP imposes on the global value chain stakeholders, as well as the ethical implications from broader theoretical perspectives. Subsequently, it examines the evolving nature of a new trend in the fresh fruit and vegetable sector, i.e., the rise of public GAP standards. Promoted by some governments in the Global South, these GAP standards emphasize support for horizontal partnerships among value chain stakeholders, farmer participation, and less capital-intensive agricultural innovations. The paper argues that, within certain limitations, these GAP standards have the potential to be the major alternative GAP approach by encouraging a much broader inclusion of small-scale producers towards the attainment of various social, economic, and environmental benefits.

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Notes

  1. Joint efforts under the global food safety initiative (GFSI) have produced good agricultural practices (GAP), good management practices (GMP), and good distribution practices (GDP). These three basic standards represent a complete food safety assurance system from farm to table (Fulponi 2007).

  2. Production requirements are not necessarily the sole determinant of smallholder exclusion; a concomitant set of supply chain logistics requirements pertains to mainstream retailing, such as product quality, consistent volumes, transportation, processing, accounting, and invoicing (Glati et al. 2007; Reardon and Berdegué 2002).

  3. A standard seeking benchmarked certification must comply with all Control Points and Compliance Criteria as set out in the relevant EUREPGAP standard (EurepGAP 2007).

  4. These countries include: Austria, Chile, Colombia, Germany, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Uruguay, and United Kingdom (GlobalGAP 2008a).

  5. These countries include: Brazil, China, Scotland, and Uruguay (GlobalGAP 2008a).

  6. These farmers have about 45,000 dependents (family and wageworker; Graffham et al. 2007).

  7. The 28 crops include 14 fruit crops (banana, coffee, durian, longan, longkong, lychee, mango, mangosteen, pineapple, pummelo, rambutan, tamarind, tangerine, and young coconut). The rest are vegetables (asparagus, baby corn, sweet corn, fresh soybean, groundnut, ginger, chili, okra, rice, vegetables in Family Cruciferae, legumes, capsicum, eggplant, melons and herbs; Surmsuk 2007). Out of them, 12 crop items are being exported. Major importing destinations include EU, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, USA, and Malaysia (APEC 2006).

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  1. Department of Sociology, Graduate Program, Iowa State University, 103 East Hall, Ames, IA, 50011, USA

    Yuichiro Amekawa

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Amekawa, Y. Reflections on the Growing Influence of Good Agricultural Practices in the Global South. J Agric Environ Ethics 22, 531–557 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10806-009-9171-8

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