The OECS Commission, in collaboration with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture, has launched a three-day workshop on Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) auditing.
Consultant, Thomas Edmund, at the opening ceremony of the workshop on Wednesday morning, stated that the workshop ultimately serves to aid its participants in planning and conducting GAP audits.
“With respect to the course, it is designed for extension officers, along with the persons in the private sector, along the value chain, to enable them to assist farmers to meet criteria by the GAP audit protocols…and enhance the export trade…” he remarked. “Ultimately, the intention here is to allow you, trainees, participants, to be able to gain knowledge, skills, which will enable you to be able to plan a GAP audit, and, more importantly, to be able to go onto a farm and conduct a GAP audit.”
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Harold Guiste, commented that GAP serves to improve farming and marketing practices, in accordance with standards.
“GAP auditing essentially addresses economic viability, environmental sustainability, social acceptability of the produce, food safety and quality. It speaks to confidence building at the marketplace, reduced exposure of citizens and consumers to increased levels of toxicity in the environment, increased access to markets, their rules, and safety standards applied,” he said.
Guiste explained that GAP auditing is necessary to aid in farm assessments, and to correct malpractice among farmers.
“GAP auditing of farms is a very useful and necessary exercise, providing information to farmers, as to where they are in doing appropriate actions to meet standards,” he noted. “GAP auditing will help with conducting farm assessments, and will afford farmers some level of scrutiny of their farm management systems, and to measure the degree of deviation from good practice, and to take corrective action.”
It was also said that a GAP audit training manual is in the works, to be published and sold.
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