We are pleased to announce that we have published an improved version of localg.a.p. The ultimate intention of localg.a.p. is still a progression to improve practices on the farm level for local implementation. Localg.a.p. shall prepare producers for GLOBALG.A.P. certification, especially those that cannot immediately get certified. 

The localg.a.p. Ready-to-Use solution will from now on be called the PRIMARY FARM ASSURANCE (PFA) standard . It remains a sub-set of the GLOBALG.A.P. Integrated Farm Assurance (IFA) standard but is updated to version 5.

Any change or customization of the PFA standard is possible only as a separate project as part of a private customized solution.

The localg.a.p. PFA standard will be the entry/lowest level of the GLOBALG.A.P. family of products and is not covered under certification.    

 1.    Overview of Changes

 Change Introduced in PFA V5

 Advantage due to Change

Standards under the localg.a.p. brand are now called Primary Farm Assurance (PFA)
  • Better integration into the GLOBALG.A.P. family of products
  • Name attractive to more markets
  • Potential to include more products in a structured manner under the localg.a.p. brand

Visible to the public
  • Same visibility as in the case of GLOBALG.A.P. IFA, but clearly distinguishable in the GLOBALG.A.P. database
  • If more information is required (e.g. assessment report), visibility packages are available

Simplified process
  • All PFA standards are ready to be used
  • To initiate PFA, similar process as in the case of GLOBALG.A.P. IFA
  • Quick and easy to set-up
  • Less restrictive on market-players that want to be involved
  • Customization is handled as a separate project

More cost-effective
  • Lower database programming costs due to standardization of standards and process
  • Bookmarking and GLOBALG.A.P. membership optional

Updated checklists, CPCCs, and rules
  • Program up to date as the PFA standard is based on GLOBALG.A.P. IFA v5.2 (latest version)

2.     Steps for Producers to get Assessed against PFA standards

Markets that are interested, or producers that want to be assessed against the PFA standards, can now follow a similar process to those that apply for GLOBALG.A.P. IFA .

3.     Transition Period

  • The transition period for changing over to the PFA standard shall be 12 months from the release date (i.e. from 15 October 2019) of the PFA standard version 5.
  • In the future, those markets demanding the localg.a.p. PFA standard will no longer be listed individually on the website, similar to the GLOBALG.A.P. IFA process.

  4.     Certification Body/Verification Body Considerations

  • Only the CBs and/or VBs approved by GLOBALG.A.P. for the PFA standard version 5, are allowed to assess producers against the PFA standard version 5.

  5.     PFA standards

  • PFA standards(localg.a.p. PFA Foundation Level version 5.0 and localg.a.p. PFA Foundation Level version 5.0) are available for the following sub-scopes:
    • Fruit and Vegetables
    • Combinable Crops
    • Plant Propagation Material
    • It is possible to extend the PFA standards to more scopes and sub-scopes, but it will be dependent on internal approval processes.

For more information you can contact us at localgap@globalgap.org (technical assistance) or customer_support@globalgap.org (database related questions), or have a look to the localg.a.p. PFA FAQs.

General information on localg.a.p. please find here.