What we offer
We offer a portfolio of standards for safe and responsible production processes in agriculture, aquaculture, and floriculture – each accompanied by a package of delivery services for their effective implementation. Additional data insights and capacity building services, along with benchmarking, add further value for our stakeholders.
The complete package for global supply chains
Farm assurance solutions
The GLOBALG.A.P. portfolio of standards are applicable to agriculture, aquaculture, floriculture, compound feed manufacturing, and the supply chain. To facilitate their consistent application around the world and maintain trust in the certification system, GLOBALG.A.P. standards are supported by delivery services such as certification validation, certification body administration, or integrity monitoring. These standards and delivery services – collectively known as solutions – mark GLOBALG.A.P. as a one-stop-shop that covers all of your farm assurance needs in one internationally recognized and trusted system.
GLOBALG.A.P. solutions at a glance
A portfolio of global standards
each made up of practical requirements, implementation rules, and supporting documents.
A framework of interconnected IT systems
to maintain accurate, up-to-date certification data via identification numbers and a closed-loop system
An integrity program to monitor and strengthen
the certification process through certification body approval and training, complaint management and investigation, and dedicated customer support
A portfolio of global standards
each made up of practical requirements, implementation rules, and supporting documents.
A framework of interconnected IT systems
to maintain accurate, up-to-date certification data via identification numbers and a closed-loop system
An integrity program to monitor and strengthen
the certification process through certification body approval and training, complaint management and investigation, and dedicated customer support
A portfolio of global standards
each made up of practical requirements, implementation rules, and supporting documents.
A framework of interconnected IT systems
to maintain accurate, up-to-date certification data via identification numbers and a closed-loop system
An integrity program to monitor and strengthen
the certification process through certification body approval and training, complaint management and investigation, and dedicated customer support
A portfolio of global standards
each made up of practical requirements, implementation rules, and supporting documents.
A framework of interconnected IT systems
to maintain accurate, up-to-date certification data via identification numbers and a closed-loop system
An integrity program to monitor and strengthen
the certification process through certification body approval and training, complaint management and investigation, and dedicated customer support
The GLOBALG.A.P. portfolio of standards
Primary solutions
Primary solutions provide a basic level of assurance. As standalone standards, they are not combined with any other GLOBALG.A.P. solutions and are not a full form of certification valid for global trade but they may fulfil local requirements for producers in emerging markets and/or facilitate the first steps towards accredited certification, if desired.
Core solutions
Core solutions are internationally acknowledged standards for primary production and the supply chain.
Often recognized by independent industry initiatives, (e.g., GFSI, GSSI, or FSI), core solutions take the form of a third-party audit which usually results in a certificate recognized in global trade markets.
We set standards for:
Plant production processes (fruit and vegetables, flowers and ornamentals, combinable crops, crops for processing, hops, tea, plant propagation material)
Aquaculture and feed production
Basic postharvest processes
Supply chain segregation and traceability processes
Add-ons to core solutions
Add-on solutions are designed to expand the scope of existing core certification, offering tailored or more comprehensive assurance on a specific topic, for example:
Workers’ well-being
Biodiversity
Water use
Digital recording of environmental metrics
The FDA’s Food Safety Modernization Act – Produce Safety Rule
Add-ons must be audited in combination with a GLOBALG.A.P. core solution.
Ready to get started?
Use our Smart Checklist Builder to easily understand which GLOBALG.A.P. smart farm assurance solutions are recommended for your production practices and generate a personalized checklist for your self-assessment.
Delivery services for GLOBALG.A.P. standards
From systems for registering certification bodies and facilitating their administrative audit tasks to the validation of a certification status, a package of delivery services for system users accompanies all GLOBALG.A.P. standards. This approach enables the consistent, worldwide application of our portfolio, upholding the integrity and transparency at the heart of the GLOBALG.A.P. certification system.
GLOBALG.A.P. IT systems
The GLOBALG.A.P. IT systems are a framework of tools that facilitate the worldwide implementation and verification of GLOBALG.A.P. certification. The interconnecting systems form a complete chain of steps to preserve the integrity of our certification and maintain stakeholder trust.
The GLOBALG.A.P. Integrity Program
The GLOBALG.A.P. Integrity Program has been dedicated to the monitoring and strengthening of the certification process for the last 15 years.
It has four key focus areas, spanning the technical implementation of our standards to overseeing the accuracy of stakeholder claims and traceability information.
Learn more about how the integrity program contributes to the continued success of the GLOBALG.A.P. certification system.
Maintaining trust in GLOBALG.A.P. certification
The GLOBALG.A.P. Integrity Program was founded in 2008 as the first of its kind in food certification. Designed to ensure the consistent delivery and implementation of GLOBALG.A.P. standards and add-ons worldwide, the program monitors and assesses all aspects of the third-party certification process.
The GLOBALG.A.P. database
With the GLOBALG.A.P. database you can check the validity of a GLOBALG.A.P. certificate or letter of conformance in real time – all you need is the GLOBALG.A.P. identification number.
Adding value for our stakeholders
Data insight and capacity building services
GLOBALG.A.P. certification is well-established as a key reference for responsible farming practices in the global marketplace – translating stakeholder requirements into primary production and supply chain standards in a growing list of countries. To add further value for stakeholders and support users of the GLOBALG.A.P. certification system, we offer various data insight services. In addition, our capacity-building services help to grow and upskill the global pool of producers who practice safe and responsible farming, widening supply chains and facilitating food security.
Data insights
The world is increasingly data-driven, and the agri-food sector is no different. Market demands for quality data on transparency and risk management are growing rapidly in supply chains, making the data management infrastructure behind GLOBALG.A.P. farm assurance solutions a vital resource.
Our data insight services – such as monitoring the certification status of a pool of suppliers via bookmarking or sharing public data between platforms – ensure that GLOBALG.A.P. solutions meet the needs of value chain stakeholders and enable producers to experience the full value of their certification.
Looking to the future with an impact-driven approach
What do we mean by “impact-driven approach”? Using data to demonstrate compliance with production standards is becoming more commonplace, but there are also conclusions to be drawn from this data.
The “impact-driven approach” is all about harnessing the power of this data to draw insights on the impact of farm assurance certification on the farming sector and examine ways to strengthen certification requirements over time.
With the launch of IFA v6 and our Impact-Driven Approach to Sustainability add-on, we are entering a new era of smart farm assurance solutions and will gradually offer more sophisticated data insights to our stakeholders.
Data insight services
Bookmarking services
GLOBALG.A.P. Bookmarking presents an easy way to record and monitor the certification status of your producers and suppliers.
Learn more
Public Bookmarking API
The Public Bookmarking API makes selected information from the GLOBALG.A.P. IT systems available on external supplier management platforms.
Learn more
Farm management software connection
Farm management software is becoming increasingly prevalent as digitalization spreads within the farming sector. It is used to manage farm operations and production processes, and can also be connected to the GLOBALG.A.P. IT systems via an API to share relevant data.
Learn more
RMS Platform
The GLOBALG.A.P. RMS Platform is a digital data-sharing service that simplifies the reporting of maximum residue limit (MRL) testing.
Learn more
GLOBALG.A.P. Community Membership
Become a GLOBALG.A.P. Community Member and get exclusive benefits, such as customized data sets upon request (in line with data access rules).
GLOBALG.A.P. capacity building services
Almost 200,000 producers are now under GLOBALG.A.P. certification worldwide, all contributing to safer, more sustainable farming practices. Whether smallholders or large cooperatives, we recognize that everyone has a part to play and aim to reach even more producers across the globe.
Through targeted capacity building activities conducted in collaboration with our global network, we can promote food safety and contribute to safeguarding our environment and the well-being of farming communities together.
GLOBALG.A.P. capacity building activities aim to contribute to the transformation of farming practices by:
Raising awareness of good agricultural practices (GAP) and collaborating with regional stakeholders
Providing training and facilitating access to certification
Establishing networks and upskilling local expertise
Farm assurance as a service
As part of the goal to promote partnerships within the farm assurance sector that minimize audit fatigue, FoodPLUS GmbH – the owner of the GLOBALG.A.P. brand – also supports other industry schemes through Farm Assurance as a Service.
Our services
Managing CB/VB approval for other schemes
Providing training on third-party certification schemes
Hosting certificate data in the GLOBALG.A.P. IT systems
Developing customized add-ons (other party private solutions) to fulfil specific buyer requirements
Offering operational services to other scheme owners contributes to less duplication in the industry and allows schemes to benefit from the collective expertise of organizations with mutual goals and interests.
Our farm assurance as a service partnerships
The SAI Platform is a global food and drink value chain initiative that aims to harness the collaborative power of its members to accelerate sustainable agriculture practices.
FoodPLUS GmbH supports the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI) Platform in managing verification bodies for the organization’s Farm Sustainability Assessment (FSA) tool, as well as through the development of a GLOBALG.A.P. Farm Sustainability Assessment (GGFSA) add-on that reduces audit duplication in the supply chain.
Harmonizing global trade requirements with South African agriculture, SIZA supports the sector in becoming a leader in sustainable farming, ethical trade, and environmental stewardship.
FoodPLUS GmbH hosts audit information on the SIZA Environmental and Social standards in the GLOBALG.A.P. database and offers an add-on for SIZA Environmental.
Developed and operated in partnership with industry stakeholders, customized add-ons to GLOBALG.A.P. core solutions utilize our certification system to reduce audit duplication and fulfil specific buyer requirements.
Private solutions are not part of the GLOBALG.A.P. brand and therefore do not undergo the usual standard-setting procedure with a public consultation process, nor do they require adoption by the GLOBALG.A.P. Advisory Board.
Driving industry harmonization
Benchmarking
Harmonizing the requirements of different farm assurance systems cuts duplication and reduces both the complexity and the cost of certification. For producers, benchmarking means that compliance with different standards can be achieved through a single audit. For scheme or checklist owners, GLOBALG.A.P. benchmarking provides international recognition in a highly competitive market.
Benchmarked schemes and checklists
GLOBALG.A.P. benchmarking is the process of recognizing alignment between different farm assurance schemes or checklists and their GLOBALG.A.P. equivalent counterparts.
This enables producers to meet buyer requirements without undergoing audits for multiple standards that cover the same G.A.P. requirements.
Farm assurance scheme and checklist owners can apply for benchmarking to a GLOBALG.A.P. standard, a GLOBALG.A.P. add-on, or a combination of both.
Discover more about GLOBALG.A.P. benchmarking opportunities.