GLOBALG.A.P. portfolio updates for January 2024

As the year comes to a close, 2023 marks another step forward in GLOBALG.A.P.’s smart farm assurance solutions journey.

The past twelve months saw the launch of the updated Sustainable Program for Irrigation and Groundwater Use (SPRING) v2 add-on and the new TR4 Biosecurity Standard, as well as the first Integrated Farm Assurance (IFA) v6 certificates in the Americas and the acceptance of the Produce Handling Assurance (PHA) standard by the International Accreditation Forum.

We are now looking forward to the wide range of updated GLOBALG.A.P. core and add-on solutions which will become obligatory on 1 January 2024.

Transitioning to IFA v6

IFA v6 Smart, launched in September 2022, will replace IFA v5.2 (for fruit and vegetables, flowers and ornamentals, hops, and aquaculture) and v5.3-GFS (for hops), becoming obligatory on 1 January 2024. This marks the conclusion of an extended transition period, with a wide range of add-on solutions now also updated to align with the streamlined, easy-to-use, and outcome-oriented approach of IFA v6.

For producers of combinable crops or plant propagation material, IFA v5.2 will remain available for audit until the launch of the updated IFA v6 for these product categories. Public consultation for IFA v6 for combinable crops and plant propagation material was completed in September 2023, and the standard documents are now in preparation for adoption by the GLOBALG.A.P. Advisory Board.

As the benchmarking process for GFSI recognition of IFA v6 GFS will remain ongoing through the first half of 2024 – and to ensure a seamless transition for stakeholders who require certification with GFSI recognition – IFA v5.4-1-GFS for fruit and vegetables and aquaculture will continue to be valid after 1 January 2024. Following the achievement of GFSI recognition, a transition period will be initiated before v6 GFS becomes obligatory. Audits to IFA v5.4-1-GFS may continue until the transition period expires.

IFA v6 transition tools are available in the GLOBALG.A.P. document center to aid producers in the implementation process.

GLOBALG.A.P. Risk Assessment on Social Practice (GRASP) version 2

To extend this flexibility to add-on solutions, the applicability of the latest GRASP v2 add-on has been extended during the GFSI benchmarking process for IFA v6 GFS.

GRASP v2 can therefore now be used in conjunction with IFA v5.4-1-GFS, not just with v6. This combination will be available for assessment until v6 GFS becomes obligatory. In addition, as v5.4-1-GFS remains valid, assessments to GRASP v1.3-1-i will still be possible until GRASP v2 becomes obligatory (after GFSI recognition of IFA v6 GFS).

The only obligatory combination at the beginning of 2024 will be that of GRASP v2 and IFA v6 Smart. This provides the opportunity for producers and certification bodies to decide together on the version to implement based on their audit planning, preparation, and buyer demands.

Add-ons in the smart era

Many other GLOBALG.A.P. add-ons and other-party private solutions were also updated and become obligatory from 1 January 2024. This table provides an overview of applicability information designed to support producers in preparations for their next audit cycle.

Final audits for IFA livestock scope

December also marks the end of the IFA standard for livestock, with the last possible date for audits against the v5.2 livestock scope set for 31 December 2023. While certification bodies can still issue certificates for the standard during 2024 – as long as the audits have been conducted before 31 December 2023 – certificate validity cannot exceed 31 December 2024.

Livestock feed manufacturers certified to the Compound Feed Manufacturing (CFM) standard are not affected by the decision to discontinue to IFA for livestock. The latest CFM v3.1, featuring significant improvements on environmental and social topics for aquaculture and livestock feed production processes, becomes obligatory for manufacturers on 1 January 2024 and replaces both v2.1 and v3.

No change in producer fees

To ensure continuity for stakeholders in a period of transition, producer fees for IFA v5.2 and GRASP v1.3-1-i will remain in place for IFA v6 and GRASP v2 until a revised fee structure is implemented with the consideration of stakeholder feedback.

The GLOBALG.A.P. system participation fees specified in the fee table v7.0 of June 2023 will therefore not apply during this period. Updated fee table documents will soon be uploaded to the GLOBALG.A.P. document center to reflect the changes and provide clarity to stakeholders going into the new year.

As always, we are available for continued support and questions at standard_support@globalgap.org.