DRAFT REPORT do not quote

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REPORT OF THE REGIONAL WORKSHOP ON GOOD AGRICULTURE PRACTICES IN EASTERN & SOUTHERN AFRICA: PRACTICES AND POLICIES KEPHIS, Nairobi, Kenya

6-9 March 2007

LOGO FAO

LOGO UNCTAD

LOGO KEPHIS
1

Table of Contents

Table of Tables Table 1. Issues identified by participants with respect to GAP..................................................6 Table 2. Opportunities identified by participants with respect to GAP ....................................6 Table 3. GAP Implementation Country Perspectives: Major Costs and Initial Solutions .......11 Table 4. Working Group 4 Discussion Questions ....................................................................16 Table 5. Working Group 5 Discussion Questions ....................................................................37 Table 6. Key actions to support an effective regional network on GAP..................................39 Table 7. Participants Workshop Evaluation ...........................................................................43 Table 8. Specific actions/ strategies to enhance Smallholders Competitiveness ....................57 Table 9. Country Action Plans ...............................................................................................68

Acronyms AGD Agriculture AGSF AGS ARPEF BSMDP COLEACP CRD DFID EHPEA ESWD EurepGAP Technical Services Unit, Office of the Assistant Director General, and Consumer Protection Department Agriculture Management, Marketing and Finance Service Agriculture Support Systems Division Rwanda Flower Producers and Exporters Federation Business Services Market Development Project Comit de Liaison Europe-Afrique- Carabes-Pacifique Centre for Rural Development UK Department for International Development Ethiopian Horticultural Producers and Exporters Association Gender, Equity and Rural Employment Division
Euro-Retailer Produce Good Agricultural Practices

FAGE FAO FPEAK FPPAZ GAP GRASP GTZ HCDA HPC HPOU ICIPE IUF KBDS KEBS KENFAP KEPHIS KHDP KHE MAAIF MAFC MoA MoH NOGAMU NTH PIP PPRI PSDA Real IPM SAFR SARD TANEXA TBS UEPB UNCTAD UoN USAID ZARI ZEGA

Federation of Association of Ghanaian Exporters Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations Fresh Produce Exporters Association of Kenya Fresh Farm Produce Association of Zimbabwe Good Agricultural Practices Good Risk-based Agricultural Social Practices Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbiet GmbH Horticultural crops development Authority Horticultural Promotion Council Horticulture Promotion Organization of Uganda International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology International Union of Food Kenya Business Development Services Kenya Bureau of Standards Kenya Federation of Agricultural Producers Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service Kenya Horticultural Development Project Kenya Horticultural exporters Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Co-operatives Ministry of Agriculture Ministry of Health National Organic Agriculture Movement of Uganda National Taskforce on Horticulture Pesticides Initiative Programme Plant Protection Research Institute Private Sector Development in Agriculture Real Integrated Pest Management Sub Regional Office for Southern and Eastern Africa Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development Tanzanian Exporters Association Tanzanian Bureau of Standards Uganda Export Promotion Board United Nations Conference on Trade and Development University of Nairobi United States Agency for International Development Zambia Agriculture Research Institute Zambian Exporters and Growers Association

1. Background
The Regional Workshop on Good Agriculture Practices in East and Southern Africa: Practices and Policies, was co-organized by FAO1, UNCTAD2 and the National Task Force on Horticulture in Kenya3 and held at the offices of the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Services (KEPHIS), Karen, Nairobi on 6-9 March 2007.

Under its Good Agricultural Practices Initiative, sub-project Capacity Building and Awarenessraising on Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development (SARD) and Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) to Contribute to Food Safety and Quality and Integrated Natural Resources Management in Kenya and Uganda within the framework of the Norway-FAO Programme Cooperation Agreement (PCA) 2005-2006. 2 Under its Consultative Task Force on Environmental Requirements and Market Access for Developing Countries. 3 The local organizers were Dr. Kedera (Managing Director of KEPHIS) and J. Kigamwa respectively Chairperson and Secretary of the National Task Force on Horticulture in Kenya.

The workshop was organised to support and share regional on-going experiences and activities on appropriate good agricultural practices to foster national food safety and quality, sustainable natural resource management, fair working conditions, and market access.

Workshop objectives

The objectives of the regional workshop were to: 1) Facilitate exchange of experiences on challenges and opportunities of GAP and strategic options for East & Southern Africa; with particular attention to viable approaches and supportive policies for small-scale producers; 2) Draw lessons to prepare recommendations and guidance for implementation at national level; 3) Identify potential areas of cooperation on GAP at regional level; 4) Discuss follow-up activities and coordination needs by donors and other actors.

Participants

The workshop was attended by over 62 participants from Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Zimbabwe and Zambia as well as donor agencies and international institutions. In addition, Ghana joined the workshop to contribute its on-going experience. Participants included staff from relevant Ministries and public institutions (food safety, agricultural policy, horticulture, extension), farmer and exporter organisations, export promotion boards, local supermarkets, agricultural workers unions, key informants from NGOs, universities, research institutes and Civil Society Organisations, development partners and donors (FAO, UNCTAD, Coleacp-PIP, GTZ, DFID/BSMDP, USAID/KHDP, DFID UK) and EurepGAP (a full list of participants and titles can be found in Annex 7). This report shares the feedback from the presentations, plenary discussions, field trip and working groups. The Power Point presentations were captured on a CD given to all participants and are available on-line at http://www.unctad.org/trade_env/meeting.asp?MeetingID=217 and http://www.fao.org/prods/GAP/index_en.htm

2. Workshop Introduction Workshop Opening

Introduction was made by Dr. Chagema Kedera, Managing Director of KEPHIS and Chairman of Kenyas National Taskforce on Horticulture, who welcomed all the participants to KEPHIS. This was followed by participants introductions and a few words from Ulrich Hoffman, Head, Trade and Sustainable Development Section, UNCTAD. Mr Castro Paulino Camarada, FAO Representative in Kenya gave an introductory speech and outlined the main challenges facing world agriculture in the twenty-first century, the potential of Good Agriculture Practices (GAP) to help face these challenges and the importance of the workshop to analyse the reality of the situation facing smallholders and other producers supplying national, regional and international markets. This was followed by a few words from Dr. Wilson Songa, Agriculture Secretary, Kenyan Ministry of Agriculture who invited the Honorable Kipruto Arap Kirwa, Minister for Agriculture of Kenya to formally open the workshop. The Minister opened the workshop by recognising that countries of the Southern and Eastern African regions face similar challenges of development, especially with regard to agriculture. Agriculture is strategic for social and economic development, rural development and addressing the Millennium Development Goals in the region, especially eradication of extreme poverty and hunger. He underlined the importance of GAP in food production systems; the challenge of surveillance and policing for most governments and acknowledged that while voluntary quality and safety assurance schemes are invaluable in implementing GAP, certification still remains a big hurdle. The Minister thanked development partners for showing the face of the smallholder farmer to standard owners such as EurepGAP and European consumers, and thanked FAO, UNCTAD and the local organisers for this timely workshop in view of the major challenges facing Kenya and the region on this topic (official Speeches can be found in Annex 1).

Participant Expectations

Participants were asked to express their expectations and what they most wanted to take-home from the workshop. The answers, below, show the range of participant interest and expertise and closely echoed the workshop objectives: Exchange of Experiences learn other experiences on GAP and certification standards; how to implement GAP in different countries. How to empower and engage smallholder farmers - the most costeffective way to implement, support and sustain smallholders especially under new standard regimes. GAP Implementation at National Level how to define and implement quality & GAP standards for domestic market and export market, to implement national GAPs for all. Clear National Strategies clarity on national GAP programme Strategies; explore a two-tier system to enable inclusion of farmers without a competitive advantage in export markets. Regional Cooperation identify strategies to integrate regional activities (e.g. exporters in the area hiring air freight together); develop a network platform/of professionals.

Interaction with Standard holders interact with retailers/ supermarkets/ standard holders to get feed back on how they gauge product quality. Social and Political Issues explore the political cost of promoting GAP domestically; how social issues can be incorporated into GAP programmes.

Main issues and opportunities related to GAP

Participants identified the two main issues related to GAP as lack of information and high adjustment cost. Other important areas mentioned included the lack of alternative markets, weak service provision, infrastructure, enforcement and environmental issues. Table 1. Issues identified by participants with respect to GAP
Information Lack of awareness of GAP. When you think you are there, things change. Lack of information on fresh produce market at the national level. How to manage trends e.g. size of producer, market requirements, and crop portfolios. Cost No price incentive for EurepGAP certification. Costly undertaking; difficulties of small producers to cope with recurrent costs in particular; cost of certification; Financial constraints; access to credit.

Alternative markets Lack of EurepGAP certification is limiting market for access for produce today. What are the alternatives to compliance? Are there really alternative markets given the challenges and difficulties of reaching them? How can governments support the development/upgrading of alternative markets (i.e. traditional wholesale and retail at national and regional level as well as organic markets)? Service Provision Weak organizational development by service providers e.g. farmers groups, extension services. Infrastructure Poor physical infrastructure to transport produce to market. Insufficient quality-assurance infra-structure and related institutions. Enforcement Poor implementation and enforcement of national standards. Environment Consumption of natural resources

The two main opportunities were identified as improved access to markets and encouragement to improve production. The impetus of having a GAP programme to organise and focus all the stakeholders in the country and to channel donor funding coherently was also perceived as very important. Table 2. Opportunities identified by participants with respect to GAP
Market Access Essential to maintain and diversify the export market. International acceptance of the national GAP

Encourage adoption of better practices in the formal market.

Improved Production Increased efficiency. Employment effects through wage labour and contract farming. Domestic agriculture more organized so equivalence/compliance with standards is achieved. Increased production and food safety. Facilitates channelling of information to small-scale farmers. Stakeholder Organisation Involvement of the retailers in the development of GAPs. Involvement of private companies together with the public sector. Continuous review and updating of standards. Attracting Funding Making coherent use of donor funding.

The elements which participants considered important to implement GAP in East and Southern Africa were many (see Annex 2). They recognised a need for improved information and sharing of experiences between countries in the region, and harmonisation at national and regional level. Capacity building was judged essential to minimise the costs of auditing and to strengthen safety and quality monitoring. Market issues included market focus (e.g. EU vs ASEAN countries) and the importance of creating GAP awareness and promoting products to domestic consumers. Policy issues included questions on how to scale-up to all farmers at national level, and how to better take account of environmental issues and workers health and safety in GAP standards.

Keynote Presentation
Key conceptual and policy issues on implementing GAP in developing countries. Ulrich Hoffmann, on behalf of the UNCTAD and FAO organizing team Mr Hoffmann gave the introductory presentation to the workshop, where he outlined the importance of national GAPs. He noted that countries need to balance the two issues of 1) addressing national circumstances and objectives and 2) the need to seek harmonization with global requirements. He mentioned common misinformation and pitfalls with respect to GAP, such asEurepGAP is an EU standard mandatory to export to the EU (whereas it is only a private voluntary standard required by some European supermarkets) and the often donor-driven process of implementing GAP capacity building and compliance projects in the absence of conceptual clarity of GAP at national level. He outlined critical issues for developing national GAP systems and outlined what countries needed to clarify first when determining their programmes. Statistics were given on the regional and export pattern; the number of EurepGAP suppliers and the Top 10 Retailers; and the role of EurepGAP and National GAP in meeting mandatory requirement overseas. Smallholder adjustment strategies to cope with GAP certifications, key trade issues and the role of national technical working groups were discussed. Advice was given in that countries should not rush on benchmarking and some examples given on the scope for regional/ subregional cooperation.

In conclusion he highlighted some key issues for workshop consideration: How can the national objectives and the requirements for access to export markets be balanced in national GAPs? What is the pro-active role of governments in the development and implementation of national GAPs? What are the costs and benefits of GAP implementation and how can the costs be minimized and the benefits maximized? What are appropriate strategies for smallholder involvement in national GAPs? What is the role of benchmarking of national GAPs to EurepGAP in the context of a holistic national GAP development? What opportunities exist for regional co-operation on GAP and supportive logistical and quality management infra-structure? How can active participation in EurepGAP standard setting be further improved?

3. Costs of Compliance to GAP Certification Programmes

In this initial session the results of two studies were presented to facilitate discussion on the actual costs of compliance faced by smallholders supplying export markets, and to identify initial strategies to alleviate these costs. Other country experiences were then shared through a facilitated panel.

Presentations: Session 1
Institutional Strengthening and Investments needed to meet EurepGAP requirements for Fresh Fruit and Vegetables. Case Studies from South Africa, Kenya, Chile and Malaysia. Pilar Santacoloma, FAO This presentation outlined the results of a recent cross-country study on the institutional strengthening and investment needs in the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable sector to comply with EurepGAP certification. It outlined the rationale for the study and the importance of the Fresh fruit and vegetable sectors in the countries chosen. The institutional framework in each country were analysed for strengths and weaknesses; and an example was illustrated on actors coordination to support export in South Africa. The investments needed at farm level across the surveyed countries were presented; analysing the initial investment and on-going costs for a number of items. For example, the annual cost of laboratory analysis was $300 in Chile compared to $600 in Kenya. A number of recommendations for investments and capacity building needed at macro and farm level were given, as well as lessons learned. These included strengthening public-private alliances; public support to enhance food safety and quality; the need to address lack of inclusiveness of smallholders and emerging farmers and the fact that alternatives to decrease cost of compliance at all levels should be sought. Underlying cost structure and options for reducing cost of compliance to EurepGAP: the case of Kenya Ruth Nyagah, Africert

This presentation comprised of the findings of an FAO study commissioned for the workshop to analyse the underlying cost structure of compliance to EurepGAP, and options to reduce cost of compliance in order to enhance smallscale producer competitiveness in Kenya. The main cost categories that were considered included farm infrastructure, capacity building, operational, laboratory analysis and certification. These categories were used to analyse two horticulture producer groups one supported by an exporter and the other donor-supported. Costs were indicated to be relatively low, with total costs of being GAP compliance at 8.3% in relation to total income for the exporter-supported group; and 12.2% for the donorsupported group. A number of strategies were proposed to alleviate these costs including group certification; establishment and strengthening of local institutions and business service providers; use local capacity. Others included better involvement in the EurepGAP National Technical Working Groups, strengthening government institutions with respect to GAP and benchmarking of national GAPs to private standards. Improved access to financing for smallholder farmers were also considered important. These strategies were matched to the specified cost categories for their potential impact.

Points of Discussion
Certification Costs It was questioned why the cost of lab analysis in Kenya was about $600/ annum double that of the other countries studied. This was explained by noting that producers were sometimes required to send samples to laboratories outside the country, which increases the cost. It is very important to realise that the level of economic activity in-country determines the cost of certification, implying that analysis is a significant cost burden for Kenyan farmers. Cost of Compliance It is important when talking of total cost to differentiate between total cost of compliance and of production. Ruth Nyagahs study addressed the Costs of Compliance. For group 1 (supported by exporters) the total costs of compliance were 8.3% in relation to total income and this group still made a profit. However workshop participants considered that the total income should be compared with total cost of production. It was therefore further noted that all relevant figures are needed for an informed debate. Varied Figures and Studies Ms. Nyagah clarified that figures used in her analysis were factual, obtained from certified groups. She noted that studies conducted at different times in the last 3 years were bound to be different due to the changes in the smallholders involved. According to her there has been very interesting dynamics in the Kenyan situation, as there has been a steady growth in volume of produce, notwithstanding that a number of large farmers have been closing their own operation, and reverting to sourcing from smallholders. It was stated strongly that small holders are continuing to participate in the export sector. Results from a non-published Kenyan Horticultural Development Project (KHDP) study (in which more than 50 groups were surveyed) have been said to confirm the results of Ms. Nyagahs study. While costs have gone up, the yields have also increased, resulting in increased net margins. The surplus from this increase in

production is also used to supply the local markets, thus augmenting total farm income. Discussions from the floor indicated that costs and benefits of compliance were sometimes not directly measurable. Benefits, in terms of efficiency can be evidenced due to better smallholder management, in crop and pest management. This benefit is not just applicable to export crops; as there is also spill over benefit to domestic markets, food safety and the environment. The many and varied costs were discussed. The study presented positive results but it was noted that in other studies, for instance, an IIED/NRI/DFID study on the Impact of EurepGAP on Smallholders in Kenya4, showed that the costs of compliance were excessively high for a small holder, leading many smallholders groups to lose their certification over time, and with a tendency of exporters to stop working with smallholders. The DFID/ Business Services and Management Development Programme in Kenya also supported this point. It was stated that a recent IIED/NRI/DFID study on the Impact of EurepGAP on small-scale vegetable growers in Kenya was based on a far larger sample of companies (interviewing 11 out of the 18 exporters in Kenya) four of which control 90% of export to the EU. The study comes to very different conclusions from Ms Nyagahs study which only surveyed 2 companies. In the IIED/NRI/DFID study, 60% of farmers which who were originally certified for EurepGAP dropped out between 2003-2006. Some participants estimated that the sheer numbers of stakeholders involved in this study should give a more realistic average. These figures were supported by UNCTAD reports on the subject in other countries. Empirical evidence and some private discussions with key stakeholders in Kenya seem to go in that direction too. The question which therefore remained was how these varied data and studies relate to each other? Which is the realistic situation? Definition of a Small holder When discussing issues of cost of compliance, it is necessary to define exactly what constitutes a small, medium and large holder. Across the various studies discussed, it is not constant. For intance Ms Nyagahs study, a smallholder was defined as those with less than 5 ha. In the IIED/NRI/DFID study, it is taken as 0.1 1 ha while in Zimbabwe A1 and A2 categories of small farmers can include even those with above 5 hectares. Coordination along the food chain Coordination through the entire food chain was discussed, including the critical role played by produce handlers and transporters. If producers are GAP-compliant but the transporters dont treat the product with care, the initial good agricultural practices will be wasted. This is why coordination of actors in the food chain is so important, as simply increasing GAP at farm level is not enough. There is continual and on-going need to increase knowledge and capacity of other actors in the chain. South Africa was taken as an example, where the Perishable Products Export Control Board (PPECB) has the responsibility to certify the entire cold chain. Business Development Services
4

Impact of EurepGAP on small-scale vegetable growers in Kenya, Graffham, Karehu and MacGregor, 2007 www.agrifoodstandards.net/en/global/fresh_insights.html

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Many donors have been taking different approaches in setting up Business Development Services (BDS). Business development services in this context refer to any type of business development support that is not financial (e.g. extension services, business training, technology transfer). These have had varied success, in part due to the export companies who have been able to attract the best technicians in the country. It was discussed whether it would be easier to accept that it is most cost effective to let export companies provide the relevant extension services and information and support establishment of BDS. However, it was noted that the market cannot provide for all, and in some of the remote areas only government extension services are present. Work and assistance must still be ongoing to assist farmers in the areas without exporter presence.

Facilitated Panel: Country Perspectives on Cost of Compliance and Solutions

To start the workshop with an appreciation implementing GAP across Africa; a number participants based on individual country costs of (Questions and further country level perspectives of the specific challenges in of questions were asked to compliance and initial solutions in Annex 3).

Table 3. GAP Implementation Country Perspectives: Major Costs and Initial Solutions Major Financial Costs General Costs fall into initial investment/ fixed-capital and recurrent/operational costs, which either arise at macro- or micro-economic level. Infrastructure, logistic and administration costs very high, especially for individual certification; no certified laboratory (Ethiopia); costs are many; ranging from training, farm inspections, establishment of traceability systems, recording systems, internal and external auditing (Zambia) Record keeping of smallholders has to be improved and simplified (Tanzania) IPM system is not currently implemented in country (Ethiopia) Technology transfer to farmers is currently inadequate; expert personnel are needed to bring new practices to farmers (Tanzania) Marketing: a lot of ground work is needed to move farmers forward; a relatively new area; capacity building of traders; links with farmers needed (Tanzania) Infrastructure and getting produce to market in a clean hygienic condition (need storage, transport, cold chain system) (Tanzania) Information: GAP is helping in promoting environmental conservation initiatives, including the impact of excess chemicals, but more farmer education is needed (Tanzania) Training and capacity building of staff is the biggest financial constraint as turnover of staff necessitates continual re-training (Zambia)

Initial Solutions Group formation and certification to decrease certification costs (Ethiopia,Tanzania) Production must first be improved before marketing and certification can be done (Ethiopia)

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Public private partnerships: Governments and private sector should help smallholders, in the size range 0.5 -2 ha (Uganda) Clustering: The government should help groups cluster around a private sector processor, to enable a creation of linkages and economies of scale (Uganda) Subsidized services. Government should support testing, R&D, marketing and processing (General) Alternatives markets should be considered e.g. organic production (Uganda) Donor Assistance: should be directed by Government to actual country needs (Uganda) Sustainability: donor assistance is valuable but farmers must be able to continue when donors leave (Uganda, Zambia) Harmonised regional GAP approach would make communication with the outside world easier (Zambia)

Feasible strategies implemented to reduce costs of compliance and critical success factors: The Example of Kenya National coordination In Kenya there is a very strong private sector drive, which is fine tuned to know what is happening in the market and its consequences. Kenya has also experienced very strong donor support, and this has led to a number of initiatives. For example there has been a history of national coordination and information sharing: In 1999 the National Task force on horticulture was looking at maximum residue levels, and had both public and private sector participation. The government trained farmers on some issues and private sector trained on others. In 2002, PIP started to support the Task Force secretariat, which proved very important. From this baseline, it was decided to develop National interpretation guidelines to EurepGAP. Private and public sector undertook a mapping of all donor initiatives (with USAID assistance). Market mapping It is very important to do a market mapping, and know the strengths and market focus at local and national level. For example: In 1996, the UK market, therefore the BRC standard was more important than EurepGAP. As over 60% of production went to the UK it was realised that a document was needed to outline the principles of production too. By 2002 the market requirements had become more stringent (Tescos Natures Choice, Marks & Spencer Field to Fork) and a change of strategy was decided, leading to the development of a national GAP as a lot of other countries were doing (Chile, Japan, Malaysia), and benchmark it to EurepGAP in order to remain competitive and avoid losing markets.

Quality infrastructure Quality infrastructure, including certification, laboratory and physical structures (e.g. roads, electricity, water) is essential to provide:

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Accreditation Services Investment and analysis services Services which reduce the costs of compliance

Before KEPHIS had inspection and testing facilities, accreditation services from South Africa were required and this was very expensive. KEPHIS is now charging one third of what the industry used to pay; and the industry is lobbying the EU for funding to further reduce costs of inspection and certification. Kenya also now has a locally owned certification body, Africert, which works with industry and public institutions and helps reduce costs.

4. Enhancing implementation

smallholder

competitiveness

and

GAP

In this section, three speakers presented different and somewhat contrasting views on the impact of private voluntary standards (PVS) on smallholders, and the actions taken by development agencies in order to overcome the negative consequences. This led to a lively debate on the impact of PVS and ways to measure it. Participants broke into four working groups to discuss and identify possible actions to support smallholders competitiveness.

Presentations: Session 2
Experiences of the Kenyan Horticulture Development Programme (KHDP) in supporting small holder certification. Steve New, KHDP/USAID

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This presentation made the case that the main benefit of EurepGAP relates to its impact on income and employment. The speaker indicated that KHDP supported small scale farmers in Kenya to obtain EurepGAP certification and that the country has not lost its market share in fresh produce exports after EurepGap implementation. He mentioned that 1500 outgrowers had achieved certification and 6000 were in progress for processing, but that there are regional differences. Smallholders can be certified if production is high enough to overcome cost, i.e. from at least half or one acre of land. The speaker sustained that Kenya fresh produce exports have continued to grow in terms of volume and value. In his view, despite increased requirements for certification, this has not caused a reduction in fresh produce exports. To the contrary, incomes from export horticulture have increased at national level and post-EurepGAP introduction. Some producers have increased more than others (i.e. french beans growth for more than 75 %) while the trend in avocado fluctuated through 2001 to 2006. Exporters are not producing more vegetables but they are investing in flower production and packing house technologies. It was stated in conclusion that the average annual net income of farmers has increased. The coordinator of another USAID-funded programme, the Kenya Business Development Service, shared with participants the current crisis faced by avocado producer groups supported by his programme, who at the time of the workshop had received an ultimatum from their commercial partners in Europe that EurepGAP certification would be required if they did not want to loose their markets in the very near future; donors were advising on strategies and putting in place mechanisms to cope with this immediate threat. Supporting smallholder certification and building an Internal Control System for EurepGap Certification in the Horticultural Sector. Kevin Billing, BSMDP This presentation explained the experience of building an Internal Control System (ICS) for smallholders in Kenya and the lessons learnt from this and other types of support. Activities supported by BSMDP included developing a Quality Management Manual (QMS), working with Product Marketing Organisations (PMO) and monitoring cost of compliance, MRLs and surveillance audits, in addition to supporting different institutions in the sector. The development of the QMS, also supported by GTZ, is part of a 5-country pilot project which includes Kenya, Ghana, Thailand, the Dominican Republic and Macedonia. Some of the groups have been certified. Some of the lessons learned from experience included: the necessity to have good contractual relations with exporters under circumstances where there is very little fairness in the relationship. On farmer group cohesion and management structures the major problem in managing the group as it relates to honesty and transparency. There also needs to be sufficient resources to maintain the ICS: farmers do not receive a price premium for compliance and there are often no incentives to re-invest in the system and simple shocks are often not manageable. Overall, the speaker highlighted the important challenges currently faced by smallholders in Kenya with respect to compliance to private standards and export requirements. Private Voluntary Standards- how can we make them more accessible to the smaller players? Morag Webb, ColeACP-PIP

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The presentation discussed the opportunities, challenges and impact of private voluntary standards in developing countries with a focus on the experience of the Pesticides Initiative Programme (PIP) of the Liaison Committee of the EU, Africa, Caribbean and the Pacific (COLEACP). The COLEACP-PIP project contributes to development of safe and sustainable trade while safeguarding the commercial position of smallholders in Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. It is a practical programme to enable compliance with EU regulations, but has also ended up working to enable compliance with private standards. The programme recognised that demand for certification is required from virtually all horticultural products in the European retailers market. It is also acknowledged that private standards contribute favourably to economic growth, with benefits for retailers, buyers and consumers as well as for strong economic players in developing countries. It became apparent however that the weaker economic players became marginalised: small and poor countries, small companies and smallholders. There is a need for compliance criteria appropriate to developing countries (DgCs) contexts; standards are sometimes near-impossible to meet and may not necessarily generate food safety. There is not enough appropriate participation of DgCs in standard setting. It should also be ensured that the requirements are proportionate to risk and are not discriminatory. The whole system needs harmonisation to reduce the number of standards. There needs to be tighter control on third party auditing as there are huge discrepancies for the same type of work due to different interpretations. Another route is benchmarking and recognition of local schemes, but it is very expensive and a long process, and at times the costs of benchmarking are not justified.

Points of Discussion
Minimum Production Level/Size Several participants mentioned that probably only medium scale farmers are able to survive in the certificated market arena and it is perceived that many smallholder groups and a lot of smallholders have dropped out. Only better-off farmers are able to remain competitive because it is not economically viable to train smallholder. There seems to be a minimal farm size and/or scale of production in order to compensate the additional cost of certification and investments required to upgrade farm infrastructure and business managerial skills. It was suggested that the minimum production needed by a farmer to stay in the certification programme is 8000 kilo of beans /year, which means about 1 hectare. There is a need to support GAP implementation and have concrete actions to enhance smallholder competitiveness in export markets. Benefits of Group Certification Group certification has shown to be a right and proper alternative to facilitate smallholders certification provided that: i) good group cohesion and management structures are in place to enhance transparency and trust in the group ii) group cohesion is maintained in order to ensure sustainability and get smallholders recertified every year iii) good contractual relationships with buyers (exporters) are maintained iv) financial mechanisms are available to maintain the quality management system to allow the group to respond to environmental or financial risks. Stakeholders It was noted that the key people in the horticulture agribusiness are mainly exporters. There is a need to support financial services including the provision of

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insurance in case of lack of rain or any other environmental or financial risk. The issue of finance is relevant, especially to take care of periods when the environment particularly weather affects production. The issue of which stakeholder (farmer/ exporter/ donor) should supply this finance was discussed. EurepGAP local interpretation EurepGAP is a global private-sector-set standard in which retailers and some producers and other stakeholders are meant to participate in standard setting. As a global standard for agriculture it needs to rely to some extent on local interpretation, particularly with respect to the number of samples for laboratory testing, and in order for a risk-based approach to work well. It was suggested that EurepGAP could be approached with local interpretation suggestions. Retailer Buying Practices Inconsistent retailer buying practices, at various times and seasons during the year, can cause uncertainty for smallholder suppliers. The point was raised that while retailers are setting the standards, they sometimes renege on orders at the last minute when they find cheaper sourcing, and also buy uncertified products when goods are in short supply. As no standard-setting European retailer was present, the point was raised as to whether the workshop was the proper forum to reflect on the way forward. The buyers should participate in this debate as they do not behave consistently themselves. The impact of private voluntary standards on smallholder competitiveness To make private voluntary standards more accessible to the smallholders in developing countries, it should be ensured that (i) requirements are not discriminatory and disproportionate to the risk involved (ii) compliance criteria are appropriate to the developing country context and there is proper interpretation by auditors i.e. in the case of laboratory samples and analysis. Working Groups: Promising Strategies to enhance Smallholders competitiveness Guiding questions were provided to identify and prioritize promising strategies to enhance smallholders competitiveness through four areas of action: capacity building, business development services, infrastructure & institutional investments and national strategies & mechanisms of coordination. Table 4. Working Group 4 Discussion Questions
Question: In working groups, discuss and identify specific actions to support smallholder in terms of: 1. Group Group Group Group 1 2 3 4 Capacity building for farmers, service providers and exporters Business Development Services Infrastructure and Institutional Investments National Strategies and Mechanics for Coordination

Based on Session 2 presentations, plenary discussions and your own expertise, discuss, identify and prioritize the 4 most promising actions/strategies to enhance smallholder competitiveness and support GAP implementation with respect to your groups specific topic. 2. For each of the strategies identified, analyse their advantages, disadvantages, which institutions (public/ private) or stakeholders (donor/exporter/farmer) should take a lead

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role and potential source of funding:

3. How realistic are the identified strategies, lead actors and funding source, when applied
to your own country?

Actions and strategies which can directly or indirectly help enhance smallholder competitiveness and support GAP implementation in a number of areas are summarized below. A detailed analysis of the proposals made by each group can be found in Annex 4. Actions/strategies to support capacity building for farmers, service providers and exporters Develop national interpretation guidelines for international standards and communicate on them to producers, exporters and auditors Support farmers and exporter associations to enable their participation in standard setting Support trade exporters associations. Develop and consolidate training materials for farmers Generic Manual. Develop training generic material and support documents as shareware Include GAP in curriculum of agriculture schools Support group formation and development Development of capacity building among farmers groups Actions/strategies to support Business Development Services Financial Services: Mechanism to access them by Farmer Groups (e.g. insurance, credit schemes) More localised capacity building services Market Linkage Services (e.g. record keeping, market information) Input Supply Services Actions/strategies to support Infrastructure and Institutional Investments Development of effective farmer groups with good management systems Cost sharing to create a sense of ownership Provision of subsidized testing and analytical services Improvement of road and communication network in the rural areas Actions to support National Strategies and Mechanisms for Coordination Establish a catalytic forum composed of all stakeholders from the public and private sector Provide technical capacity building for small holder farmers to enhance their conception and understanding of GAP Provide access to credit/ funding for the smallholder farmers, in the form of microfinance or substitutes/ grants to assist in putting in place the necessary infrastructure and systems Explore other market options such as organic, fair-trade and conventional wholesale market Invest in farmer group formation and cohesion building to promote collective marketing and group implementation of GAP.

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5. Field Day
Participants were divided into two groups and participated in technical excursions to an exporters farm and packing facility. In the evening the airport facilities of a major exporter (Homegrown) were visited. Hand-outs with guiding questions were provided to the groups to provide some background and guide the visits.

Discussions from the Packhouse

Social Welfare One of the main observations on the pack-house was the fact that the workers were not part of a trade union. They were mostly woman and were considered by the company to be better workers. They earned approximately $2/ day. However, most are employed seasonally and not full-time due to counterseasonal production during the European winter. Quality of Produce Exported There was much discussion about the rate of produce return from exporter to farmer (i.e. produce returned as it did not meet export market specifications) which was quoted as accounting for up to 50%. Participants strongly disagreed with this estimation and considered that 5-10% would be a more accurate anticipated reject amount, and that such produce should be considered as not meeting specific requirements of the export market, instead of being defined as low quality. A lot of these returns were distributed to local markets or donated to Children's homes and schools as part of the companys social responsibility approach. Shared Structures In the discussion on shared structures (e.g. packhouse/chemical stores), it was felt that this would only work around a large established exporter such as KHE or Homegrown. Shared structures may not be feasible in other East and Southern African countries, and as farmers prefer to own their own property and may prefer not to jointly share structures or systems.

Experience from the Exporters

Homegrown has been in operation for the last 25 years, and sources its produce from nucleus farms (40%) with the remainder 60% sourced from over 1000 out growers. Main management issues are the allocation of risk, the unionisation of labour, the total cost of certification and the rejection rates. It was apparently relatively easy to become EurepGAP certified but the biggest challenge is maintaining the records. Success Factors Technical Staff involvement: The export company has 80 technical staff and is responsible for training towards certification in particular on record keeping. The maintenance of this high number of small holders was considered as a major challenge, but it is still effective. Division of Responsibilities: Responsibilities to achieve certification were shared. For instance farmers deal with the infrastructure, put up the toilets, sheds and do the recording.

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Top-Class Packing Facilities: The high-care process can take 1-2 hours from product receipt to packing, which can be reduced to 45 minutes at peak times, if necessary.

Challenges Variation and Risk: The small holder farms with whom Homegrown works vary in size from 5 x 25m2 up to 5 acres; and the peak volume therefore varies from 30 kg to 1 tonne. The increased trend toward outgrower farmer sourcing means more risk of product loss. Record keeping: Maintenance and constant monitoring of out growers to remind them of their responsibilities is necessary. Farmers keep a diary and every 2 weeks technical staff go round to type it up, which was considered a significant burden on staff-time. Cost of Testing: KEPHIS still remains expensive and cannot do the full spectrum testing. Currently it was mentioned that it remains more convenient to do the testing abroad. Homegrown indicated that it bears 90% of the cost of testing, certification, documentation and record keeping.

Experience from an Option 1 Farmer Group

Individual farms can apply for certification under EurepGAP Certification Option 1 while groups can get certified under Option 2. A variety of arrangements for certification possibilities have been observed in developing countries implementing EurepGAP certification. Under the option 1 individual certification this can take 3 forms. Firstly, large farms (on average 6- 150 ha) can achieve certification to EurepGAP Option 1. Secondly, smaller farms (often with firm contracts with exporters) can achieve certification to EurepGAP Option 1 (on average between 3-12 ha). Thirdly, exporters can achieve certification to EurepGAP Option 1, using small farmers as contract farmers (also known as subcontractors/ out growers). In this case the main farmer (exporter) is certified but the contract farmers are not. While the subcontractors are subject to the same controls, the main farm (exporter) is responsible for their compliance and the contract farmers do not own the EurepGAP Certificate on their own5. A farmer from Kinangop (Daniel Kinuthia) shared his experience in working in a group under the Option 1 (Individual farm EurepGAP certification, a special case for Kenya) with their exporter, producing peas and mange tout. They have a farmer group manager and executive committee; approximately 100 farmer members whom are organised in a very hierarchical and efficient management system. The challenges in this farmer group, as well as for the exporters, include the recording system and problems of illiteracy. It was pointed out that under this Option 1 approach each farm is not classified as a farm, but is considered to be a field. NAKAGRO (Dutch NGO) is pioneering this approach. There are still some doubts about the legality of this approach with respect to EurepGAPs procedures since Option 1 normally applies to individual farms, and it was questioned whether 200 farmers under this option 1 would also be viable under option 2 (group certification). The sustainability of this Option 1 approach is also dubious, as the Technical Assistant (TA) makes all the
5

Opportunities for Reduction of EurepGAP Compliance Cost to Enhance Small scale Producer Competitiveness: the Case of Kenya, Nyagah and Watene, 2007

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decisions. Some observers raised concerns that if the farmers are simply workers on their own farms and do not make any decisions, what benefits would remain if the donor or exporter pulled out.

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6. GAP and SARD: Improving natural resource use at farm level, working conditions and workers health and safety
This session looked at how GAP can help promote Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development (SARD), and some of the major challenges and risk inherent in GAP that can impede SARD. The session focused on the effect of GAP implementation on the environment and social welfare of producers and farm workers. Several studies were presented to analyse how different categories of farmers and workers had been affected by implementing GAP.

Presentations: Session 3
How can GAP contribute to Sustainable Agriculture Development? Environmental and social welfare issues Paola Termine, FAO and Rural

The purpose of this presentation was to clarify the linkages between GAP and SARD, including its potential contribution to SARD and main challenges, focusing particularly on issues of occupational health and safety (OH&S). It raised the question of how we can go beyond consumer-driven GAP to move towards development-driven GAP, and the issues that need to be addressed for benefits from GAP adoption to be equally distributed among large and small farmers and workers. The presentation noted that environmental and social welfare issues in GAP are still generally very weak, despite the fact that agriculture poses many health and safety hazards (especially in the use of chemicals and farm machinery). The main issues that make social welfare principles difficult to apply include outdated regulations, prevalence of informal contracts, lack of awareness of the long-term pesticide use risks, absence of safer alternatives. However, the presentation noted that awareness has been developing and some national programmes, for instance the Zambia Code of Practice (ZEGA) developed for export, had a very strong Human Resource Management (HRM) and Welfare section. The presentation concluded with some recommendations including the need to ratify and implement Operational Health and Safety laws in agriculture; the need to draw attention to the different dimensions of social welfare; identify ways of improving health and safety (H&S) with realistic, appropriate practices which could include elimination of hazards and promotion of safer agricultural technologies versus protection. The creation of awareness for and among farmers and workers will reinforce their capacity to participate in social dialogue. Impact of GAP on working conditions and workers health and safety a study on Kenyan Horticulture Maggie Opondo, UoN The presentation gave a background on a study commissioned by FAO to study the impact of adoption of GAP on farm labours health and safety and identifying relevant SARD good practices in the horticulture and livestock sectors, through the analysis of two types of fresh produce: High Value Export (HVE) and local African Leafy Vegetables (ALV). Information was collected through semistructured interviews, held with 300 households who were growing African Vegetables (37%) and High Value exports (63%).

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The main findings showed that farmers generally had some awareness of GAP even if they were not certified. GAP seems to be addressing health and social problems and the study showed a 75% reduction in health and safety risks. However farmers may not practice all the GAP requirements due to the costs involved. Other main challenges identified to adoption of GAP principles included expensive equipment and inputs, lack of adequate external support, agents appropriating farmer profits, delayed payments and losses suffered from rejected produce. Some of the possible solutions to address these needs could include incentives (better prices, market accessibility) to farmers to encourage implementation of change, creation of awareness, training, eliminate agents (middle men) and promotion of external support through credit facilities and donations. Good Social Practices in Agriculture proposals for social criteria based on lessons from the GRASP project. Jenni Heise, GTZ The presentation on the Good Risk-based Agricultural Social Practices (GRASP) Project gave an outline of the project and its main achievements. The main objective of the GRASP project was to find solutions to improve EurepGAP standards in the areas of Working Conditions, Workers Health and Safety, Social issues and Workers Welfare. The GRASP project strengthened social welfare issues in the Health, Safety and Welfare Chapter of EurepGAP by developing a draft improved chapter, through testing and discussing it with other pilot projects, and harmonising it with other initiatives. Moreover, the project developed a voluntary Module for Good Social Practice. An example from the module on Social Management Systems was given, showing the importance of a two-way complaints procedure. This has been submitted to the EurepGAP secretariat, which will consider whether or how to adopt and implement it. Examples were given of how small-scale farmers can succeed in carrying out documentation. For example, a wooden board on a farm wall, containing all necessary information, was reported to be suitable as a tool to support compliance. The presentation showed how EurepGAP could be used for promoting higher social welfare standards, while keeping the more demanding certification requirements voluntary. Economic impact of EurepGAP standard on small- to large-scale production and farm worker welfare in Kenya. Dagmar Mithoefer, ICIPE Ms Mithoefer presented a brief summary of ongoing research addressing the economic impact of the EurepGAP standard on small, medium and large-scale producers as well as on farm worker welfare and discussed preliminary findings with respect to achieving development goals (Paper in Annex 5). Preliminary results show that adoption of EurepGAP standards had a significant positive impact on smallholder farm financial performance, although this needs to be further analysed to take account of recurring costs. Small-holders operate on a lower input-output level and are on average as efficient as large farms. However they take longer than large farms to breakeven. Transaction costs for sourcing produce from smallholders are higher than

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for sourcing from large-scale farms; however, overall sourcing cost from smallholders is still cheaper than sourcing from large farms. Larger farms pay considerably higher wages and provide higher value non-monetary benefits; on small-scale farms EurepGAP certification has significant positive influence on household living conditions and the use of protective clothing. Employees on large scale farms benefit significantly from health care offered as part of the work contract although self-reported health was not better than that of farm workers on small-scale farms. On certified farms job satisfaction was not significantly higher and workers reported less work effort than workers on non-certified farms. However, since analysis has not yet been finalised, no definite conclusions can be drawn with respect to the type of farm and policy measures to support smallholder participation. For a full comparison of large to small-scale export production one needs to take into account employment and associated welfare effects for all types of farms as well as varying levels of transaction costs for sourcing of the produce. Further, no final conclusion with respect to the impact of the standard on the whole of the horticulture sector can be drawn. In order to do so non-financial benefits, e.g. potential health and environmental benefits, need to be taken into account as well as potential spillover effects on the domestic sector. Comparing the domestic to the export vegetable market one needs to take into account the services which export companies provide to producers, such as exporter-employed agronomists who provide extension services to the associated smallholders. Further, exporters also enforce the standard and respond to standard violations. Thus national GAP schemes also need to assess the institutional setting for putting monitoring and enforcement mechanisms into place. Bridging the GAP with IPM Louise Labuschagne, Real IPM The lively presentation by the private company Real-IPM started with their own definition of IPM: [to] actively replace pesticides with alternative methods (cultural, physical and biological control agents) by developing field use protocols which maintain yields and quality and to use pesticides only when necessary to achieve this objective. There is much commercial advantage to apply IPM. However it needs to be noted that there is not legal definition of IPM, many auditors and buyers are not competent to evaluate IPM, and therefore the concept is susceptible to abuse. For this reason the Real IPM Company created an audit which can be viewed on line at www.realipm.com. The presentation highlighted the many cultural, biological and physical controls that exist to replace the use of pesticides. According to Real IPMs assessment, under current Fair Trade Standards, no positive action is required from growers and no timescale is defined for IPM implementation which means that it could be done over 30 years. The EurepGAP standards also show a similar uncertainty on the extent to which compliance with IPM is required. The Pesticides Action Network (PAN) has complained that there was a watering down of IPM in EurepGAP. In conclusion Ms Labuschagne stated that there is no excuse not to make use of the wide range of scientific knowledge on pest life cycles; low technology

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production of bio pesticides and innovative field use protocols which are currently available.

Points of Discussion
Kenyan farmers IPM Cost Advantage There was an enquiry about the scale and cost of implementation of IPM by Kenyan commercial farmers, and whether there were any issues with phytoinspection for products entering EU or UK markets. It was clarified that there is no problem as the same bio-control agents which are used in the EU are also used in Kenya. The large scale production of biological control agents in Kenya offers cost savings to Kenyan farmers. A normal release of predator mites only used in glasshouses in the UK is cheaper to produce in developing countries (2 million predator mites to be released on outside fields in Kenya would cost 8000/ ha in the UK). Use of IPM can reduce overall pesticide use by 50 70% (e.g. using Phytoseiulus to replace Acaricides in Roses), also leading to reductions in input costs. Labour Law in Kenya - Casual and Seasonal Workers The importance of clear distinction between casual workers (paid on daily basis) and seasonal workers (entitled to contracts, sick pay and other benefits) was discussed. Any infringement of labour laws in Kenya would be considered to be breaking the Kenyan law. EurepGAP regulations should not be considered above the law; they must be in line and should comply with local laws, in all countries. Clarity between Different Standards It was stated that EurepGAP is an Agricultural Practice standard and not a standard for sustainable agriculture. Even though there is a section pertaining to farm labour and welfare, it should not be considered that it covers comprehensively all these aspects. It does not intend to have an extensive coverage of all labour regulations and standards. Harmonisation of Standards A question was raised on the harmonisation of standards as the Kenyan Flower Standards (KFS) had already developed a very complete standard, incorporating social issues. It was clarified that GRASP is not writing a new social standard or audit but creating verifiable indicators for sensitization of farms with a social management system. Living Conditions The differences in living conditions between smallholders and farm workers in the ICIPE study were discussed; it was noted that the income (in form of salary) of workers employed on larger farms was high, but the living conditions were lower than in small scale farms. It was also clarified that they study had analyzed the health and working conditions in the place where the workers spent most of their time (i.e. not their own homes). Income Analysis and Break-Even time The ICIPE presentation mentioned an initial farm income increase of 6000 Kenyan Shillings (KSh) (gross margin); but caution was recommended as initial investments and additional costs were not factored in. The break-even length of time for smallholders was an average of 25 months compared with 1 month for a large exporter.

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Small-holder Efficiency The initial ICIPE study findings which showed that sourcing from small-holder farms was on average as efficient as sourcing from large farms was welcome by participants. However it was agreed that all factors (e.g. risks of MRL offences) should be taken into account to give a complete picture.

Working Groups: Sustainable Agriculture for Rural Development

The participants then split into groups and were invited to reflect on how to improve environmental and social aspects of GAP in ways which are meaningful and realistic to developing countries and based on small-farmers experience. These issues were then shared and discussed in plenary. A consolidation of the discussions can be found below. What are the challenges regarding the inclusion of social welfare and environmental issues in GAP? Who will meet the cost of social welfare? How to cater for varying needs and priorities Enforcement of social welfare requirements Complying with some GAP standard requirements e.g. building stores Creating a good public infrastructure for the vulnerable to comply Training, communication and re-training on GAP to keep all farmers informed Meeting consumer requirements of keeping prices down and still meet the challenge of social responsibility Priorities given by the small holder to environmental issues are lower How can these challenges be addressed? In an ideal situation they should be shared by consumer, producer and government. Standardization of key priorities Capacity building on the requirements through training and re-training programmes Stakeholder alliance between Government; Private sector; Standard owners; Donors How to improve environment and social aspects of GAP in a realistic way: Identify serious violations and address them first Use a phased approach Adapt requirements to the needs of small farmers Clear interface between government laws and regulations in GAP standards

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How to promote stakeholder involvement in development of national GAP to include social welfare and environmental issues: Empower farmer participation by creating awareness on regulations and issues Involve all stakeholders in formulation of guidelines Economic incentives as seen in Zambia What types of strategies are necessary to improve health and safety and environment? Train technical teams Support/fund research on IPM Develop information services e.g. PIP on pesticides Develop and enforce environmental laws with easy guidelines How to integrate environment and health and safety in National GAP strategies? Prioritization is the first criteria; and then take a mid to long term approach The costs of (not) implementing them should be analysed How to put implementing/enforcing mechanisms in place and the feasibility of such a system should be first analysed All stakeholders should be involved: Farmers, Leaders, local level, Government (public), private sector (profit and non-profit) What Infrastructure is needed to enforce better health and safety and environmental impact? Appropriate regulatory institutions Communication Infrastructure Provision of appropriate Pesticide Protection Equipment to workers Use of safe handling and application system (stores, spraying equipment, etc) All stakeholders should be involved: Government, Private sector, Donors and department partners Strategies to create awareness on health and safety and other social issues Need properly skilled trainers to create awareness and structured training Form groups to provide correct information at farm level (especially on pesticides) Use the Internet and IT technologies to reach many small holders

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7. Strategies for GAP implementation, relevance to domestic food safety & quality and market access 7.1. Implementation and impact of GAP standards in export and domestic markets Presentations: Session 4 a
An exporters view: demand for GAP in export markets - which GAPs, which markets? Appollo Owuor, KHE The speaker provided, from a smallholder perspective, an exporter's view on the demand for GAP in export markets. KHE is an independent Kenyan company in business for the last 20 years, exporting beans, broccoli, baby corn and avocado, mostly shelf-ready, to UK and French markets. These are supplied from a 3-tier system of own farms, contract farms and smallholders. Through KHE about 500 smallholder farms can access the European market. KHE regularly supplies four retailers in the UK market that all have their own commercial standards in addition to EurepGAP therefore requiring multiple certifications. Some of KHEs production is also sold under fair trade labels. Producer groups are organized in different forms (with respect to management structure) and KHE have their own QMS in the form of procedure and policy documents to guide growers to meet their standards. Many of the groups are EurepGAP certified under option 2. The same quality standard is maintained throughout the network by KHE and their quality management teams regularly verify production methods. While KHE takes responsibly for group training and shares the management system it is the groups themselves which own the EurepGAP certificate. In addition, there are centrally managed spray teams that carry out scheduled application of crop protection products. The key problems encountered in the production and management process are: (i) Low levels of literacy (ii) High number of young farmers and farm workers with a poor perception of farming (iii) Poor business skills (iv) High level of technical and management input required. Successes and Challenges When asked about the key successes and challenges of KHE's operation, Mr. Owuor identified the following points as important for its success: a strong quality management system in place, lots of training, and considerable donor support. The key challenge the company faces is the free-riding by farmers that sell produce elsewhere. Margins are tight in the horticulture industry (an estimated 35%) which necessitates a high turnover and air-freight currently costs $2 per kg so high-care products are most cost-effective. The environmental issues such as air-miles and carbon foot printing are the biggest challenges facing both Kenya and KHE today. Tesco vs EurepGAP Certification It was asked whether marketing channels to the UK remain open, even if EurepGAP, Tesco Natures Choice (TNC) or Waitrose (Leaf) certification has not yet

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been achieved for all groups. Mr Owuor replied that they are constantly working to upgrade their certification. TNC is much more stringent than Eurepgap as it has 3 levels (bronze, silver and gold) with Eurepgap equivalent to the Bronze level. KHE groups with TNC Bronze certification are working towards the gold level in order to further penetrate the Tesco market. A supermarkets view: what is the demand for GAP in the domestic market: procurement standards and feasibility of sourcing from smallholders. Peter Nderu, Uchumi Supermarket Mr. Peter Nderu, Uchumi Supermarket, Kenya, made a presentation on the demand for GAP in the domestic market especially for the fresh fruit and vegetable sector. Uchumi has 31 stores (30 in Kenya and 1 in Kampala, Uganda), and sources from about 200 small holders. The fresh produce category is still in its infancy in Kenya, accounting for 3-5 % of total sales of the supermarket (by way of comparison, supermarkets sales of body care products account for 45% of all body care products sold in the country). This picture is similar to the situation of other supermarkets in the country and region. However, fresh fruit and vegetables are among the fastest expanding market segments for the supermarket and the Uchumi supermarket in Uganda cannot source enough carrots and mushrooms locally and imports them from Kenya. Uchumi does not conduct MRL testing, because of lack of testing facilities, and not much is done to enforce GAP. Quality conditions are negotiated with suppliers with appearance and physical condition the most important selection criteria. There is not much investment by supermarkets into quality control. According to Mr. Nderu, investment in GAP does not give local supermarkets a competitive edge in the market. Uchumi contracts mostly small producers, not large and foreign companies. The procurement market is dominated by brokers, whom Uchumi also uses (30% of produce comes directly from farmers, about 70% from brokers) and the market is mostly price, not quality, based. Generally, there is no brand consciousness among consumers and the supermarket uses the generic Uchumi Fresh Daily also as a brand for fresh produce. Tougher government legislation might encourage development towards use of GAP in local markets. It was said that the larger retailers in Kenya do not even have an updated list of banned or regularly used agrochemicals. However, the representative of COLEACP clarified that the PIP project has provided updated lists of agrochemicals which are also available to local supermarkets. A governments view: feasibility of implementing GAP to improve domestic food safety- challenges and benefits from a government perspective Virginia Mwai for Tom Bonyo, MoA Virginia Mwai presented a governments view on the feasibility of implementing GAP to improve domestic food safety. In her view, the priorities for national GAP development are determined by the evolving trade requirements and food

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scares. Food safety is a continuum and end-product testing is not enough. Governments have to adapt legislation and inspection requirements to the scope of intended GAP objectives and existing national capacity. There are many prerequisites for proper GAP implementation, including traceability (there is not yet any legislation in the area), risk analysis and impact analysis, SPS testing and analysis, soil and water quality management, fertilizer analysis and use, MRL surveillance, R&D for national GAP development and organizational development and effective organizational tools. The key challenges for governments at national level are: development of a food safety assurance system incorporate national GAP objectives into policy and regulatory frameworks incorporating GAP into production systems (ICS for PMOs) development of support infrastructure (logistics and quality management) The difficulty in Kenya is that prioritization of food safety was not very high on the government's agenda, relative to the fight against HIV AIDS, health care and poverty alleviation. Kenya lacks a coherent food safety policy and there is a need to sensitise the policy makers. There is no food control legislation although a committee is discussing the issue.

Points of Discussion
Public Private Partnerships When questioned, Ms Mwai highlighted that the private sector was not part of the public committee on food safety, but that the private sector does take part in the Kenya Horticultural Task force (co-organizer of the present workshop). However, the recently created Agricultural Sector Coordination Unit was put in place by the government to coordinate actors and facilitate a more coherent approach. Local Market conditions and Legislation Participants discussed marketing conditions and the risk of contamination from the practice of selling produce resting on the ground. Ms. Mwai clarified that marketing of produce was under legislation of local authorities, who need to be encouraged by the central government to invest into cleaning up local market facilities. In support, the Government should gradually introduce regulation on safe food marketing practices.

7.2. Strategies for GAP implementation at national level Presentations Session 4 b

Developing national strategies for the implementation of GAP: key considerations for developing countries Anne-Sophie Poisot, FAO Ms. Poisot made a presentation on key considerations for national strategies for the development and implementation of GAP programmes for developing countries. She outlined what GAP represents for FAO 6, FAO country level GAP
6

Practices that need to be followed to ensure environmental, economic and social sustainability for on-farm production and post-production processes and result in safe and quality food and nonfood agricultural products.

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assistance and the evolution of the GAP concept over the decades from extension and research guidelines toward codes and standards which demonstrate how to farm better. She first presented preliminary results of a study by FAOs Commodities and Trade Division on penetration of private voluntary standards into European Markets. Preliminary conclusions are that private standards (especially EurepGAP and BRC) will become increasingly important and indispensable when supplying to top European retailers. However, there are still opportunities for non-certified products including with retailers themselves, but especially in wholesale and specialty and other markets, and with other certified markets with a premium such as organic and fair trade. As a conclusion, it is therefore meaningful to implement national GAP systems also without commercial certification. To implement a national GAP system it is vital to have a clear objective and strategy identifying an obvious market potential, in order to avoid wasting time and resources. This programme should be concerted (involve all levels, country, industry and farmers), cost effective and realistic. Components of a national GAP programme (a) Clarity in market demand and support (clarify target markets and key actors) (b) Established stakeholder coordination mechanisms (e.g. Steering Committee/ Task Force) (c) Concerted and clear Strategy (market focus; benchmarking options) (d) Standards and documentation (adapted to national circumstances & legal requirements) (e) Reliable inspection, certification, laboratory services (establish or strengthen) (f) Infrastructure and Capacity Building (Farm infrastructure, training, service providers)

Key components of a national GAP programme were visualized as below. Mini workshops were organized later in the day, to discuss a few of the key components. National GAP Programme Components

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Concerted Strategy and Policy Stakeholder coordination and mechanisms GAP Standards & Documentation

GAP PROGRAMME
Market Demand & Sector Support Reliable Inspection/ Certification/ Labs

Infrastructure & Capacity Building Differential GAP strategies for different countries may include the following: (a) Consideration of a step-by-step or two-tier GAP Strategy (e.g. Bronze/Silver/Gold levels of GAP for domestic/ export markets). (b) Consideration of policy trade-offs, which take full consideration of the impact and inclusiveness of smallholder farmers (c) Advanced countries/farmers: Consideration of individual larger farmer EurepGAP compliance, with group compliance for smaller farmers. Other options/ tools could include a combination of a) development of National interpretation guidelines (if no national GAP scheme exists); b) benchmarking national GAP scheme to EurepGAP (if it exists) c) promotion strategy of GAP to domestic middle class consumers or d) introduction of a voluntary two-tier GAP (for domestic or export markets). (d) Less advanced countries/farmers: Consideration of individual larger farmer EurepGAP compliance with a focus on infrastructure and business skills development for smaller farmers (i.e. a basics first strategy). Other options can include considering different market channels (e.g. Organic, Fair Trade, regional, domestic) or the development of a national (non-benchmarked) GAP scheme, as a voluntary tool to upgrade the industry. Ultimately, a national GAP programme should be a matter of strategic, yet realistic choice for governments and stakeholders. Experiences on developing national GAP programmes in Asia and Latin America: a comparative perspective. Ulrich Hoffmann, UNCTAD In the last 2 years, UNCTAD has prepared three series of country-case studies on challenges and opportunities of EurepGAP in Asia, Latin America and Africa 7. This

Focused on Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam in Asia; Argentina, Brazil and Costa Rica in Latin America; and Ghana, Kenya and Uganda in Africa.

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workshops background paper is a synthesis of all these country-case studies 8. Mr Hoffmann highlighted that a first step of meaningful comparative analysis of GAP approaches among developing countries should be an analysis of the regional pattern of export (in Asian, intra-Asian trade accounts for 70% of exports, whereas the lions share of African and Latin-American exports is shipped to the EU market). Apart from export destination, the export dependency affects the nature and design of national GAP programmes (e.g. of all the UNCTAD case studies, export dependency is highest in Costa Rica). National GAP Schemes in Asia The governments of Malaysia and Thailand have developed and run national GAP schemes (Farm Accreditation Scheme of Malaysia and Q-GAP, Thailand). There is no third party certification, and both schemes target in part the national market and national food quality and safety. Both schemes are recognized on a bilateral basis by the major trading partners; and largely focus on pesticides use, with little attention to other environmental and worker welfare, issues and microbial contamination. Products are awarded a label, which however does not entitle to or guarantee a price premium and governments bear a considerable part of the running costs of the two schemes. Both pursue a multi-tier approach to national GAPs. In Thailand, the national GAP scheme is supplemented by a premium GAP scheme in one region (Western GAP region) that focuses on export markets. There are also a number of large producers/exporters which are directly EurepGAP certified. Recently, the Fruit and Vegetables Producers Association in Thailand has started a consultative process on developing a ThaiGAP, which is crafted along the lines of EurepGAP. National GAP Schemes in Latin America National GAP schemes only exist in Brazil, Chile and Mexico. In Costa Rica and Argentina, production of exported produce is dominated by very large producers, most of who are directly certified to EurepGAP. Brazil has a government-developed national scheme (Integrated Fruit Production, PIF according to its Portuguese acronym), almost entirely targeting the national market. The PIF standard includes most of the food safety, social and environmental aspects of the EurepGAP standard, however it is not generic (as EurepGAP is), but crop specific. This poses multiple-certification problems for some farmers and it is argued by some that the PIF may be too comprehensive and stringent, demanding enormous effort from producers but lacking recognition in the market, unlike EurepGAP. The Brazilian Government offers subsidies to small and medium-sized producers for applying PIF. Chile and Mexico have GAP programmes which were developed by large producers and then endorsed by the Governments with little focus on conditions and concerns of small producers. The main objective of these national schemes is the export market; and in this regard they blend the requirements of EU markets with US market access requirements to avoid multiple certifications. Both national schemes have been benchmarked to EurepGAP. Three key lessons from UNCTAD country case-studies: 1) Governments need a clear vision, objective and strategy for national GAP schemes, which weighs up national objectives and existing capacity with access requirements to export markets.
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The synthesis paper was also circulated to the regular session of the SPS Committee of the WTO, held in Geneva on 28 February (as WTO document G/SPS/GEN/761).

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2) The gradual, step-like and multi-tier approach on national GAP programmes in Asia is interesting, but needs to be based on more stakeholder dialogue. 3) System credibility (with independent verification) and financial support to small producers are important. Mini-Workshops: Ask the Resource Person On the late afternoon of the third day, participants were free to attend Miniworkshops of their choice with resources persons on different technical issues, to discuss on a more informal basis practical questions on four areas of importance for implementing GAP programmes. This encouraged direct interactions and networking. The four areas were: Key issues to design inclusive national GAP strategies. Resource persons: Anne-Sophie Poisot (FAO) and Ulrich Hoffmann (UNCTAD) What are GAP standards, accreditation & certification options, and what will an auditor check on your farm? Resource persons: Ruth Nyagah (AFRICERT) and Kerstin Uhlig (EurepGAP) How to implement food safety and traceability systems and Quality Management Systems at farm and exporter level? Resource persons: Morag Webb (COLEACP-PIP) and Kevin Billing (DFID/ BSMDP) How to organize outgrowers and farmer group schemes to help smallholders comply? Resource persons: Appollo Owuor (KHE) and Timothy Mwangi (KHDP)

8. Development of national GAP programmes: Country case studies Presentations: Session 5

Presentation of the Kenyan Country Case, benchmarking of the KenyaGAP document with EurepGAP and discussion of progress to date Cosmas Kyengo, FPEAK Mr Kyengo gave an outline of the development of the FPEAK code of practice, and its development into KENYAGAP, the many challenges and lessons that have been learned in the benchmarking process to EurepGAP and certification. Overview of Kenyas experience In 2002 FPEAK decided that there was the need to revise its Code of Practice for fresh fruit and vegetables, and launched the development of a KenyaGAP. For the sake of international recognition at that time many growers were already applying

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GAP standards required in European markets. According to FPEAK, KenyaGAP has more flexibility and a more developmental approach than EurepGAP: it is a domesticated interpretation of EurepGAP, based on the national code of practice. Some of the key points presented were: The basis for developing a National GAP scheme lies squarely on individual countrys priorities. Reasons range from the need to standardize/improve production practices (e.g. Kenya), market promotion (e.g. Chile), Environmental pressure (e.g. Netherlands), Social & Ethical pressure (e.g. most developed countries- hence many codes tend to be social-heavy). Since one of the roles of the Association is information dissemination it became apparent that it was necessary to document the practices using technical staff drawn from exporting firms and key public sector institutions. FPEAK in partnership with public and private sector players developed a code of practice (set of requirements) in 1997, to specifically standardize production practices. It is important to note that some requirements are not necessary GAP principles but legal requirements that should anyway be adhered to. Inclusion of public personnel is important so that legal requirements are adequately covered. Outsourcing of experts for specific aspects is necessary to blend with available knowledge. e.g. best practice at international level for waste management, pesticide procurement, storage, application and disposal, quality assurance and auditing aspects in a code of practice/scheme, health and safety best practices as well as standard development. For the sake of ownership, it is important that the basic document is developed from within the industry by documenting which practices are actually being carried out. Revision process is an inbuilt and integral part of document control, and hence the reason for revising FPEAK code of Practice in 1999 and 2003 (renamed KenyaGAP). The best approach is to have a multi-tier approach with the basic principles forming the Bronze Code of practice stating the minimum for all growers (new members), the Silver with slightly more stringent requirements and the Gold Code of practice for the most stringent requirements and possibly for the market leaders (e.g. continue documented reduction on use of pesticides, continue investment in drip irrigation as opposed to other forms of irrigation, investment in water harvesting techniques, new investment towards hydroponics, day care centres for breast feeding mothers, transport for all workers, meals for all workers, reduction in use of fumigants like Methyl bromide etc). The objective here is to have an inclusive process but one that allows technological advancement. A simple industry self regulation mechanism funded by industry can be establish to monitor the adherence to the principles. Once in a while inviting government inspectors during the pre-assessments helps reduce multiplicity of inspection as well as build strong public private sector dialogue.

Benchmarking to EurepGAP and certification

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The decision to benchmark depends on the product(s) in question, value, market share & destination, market requirements and possibly the opportunity cost if the product(s) was/were not safeguarded. It is good to decide on what level to benchmark- Bronze, Silver or Gold. Clearly the best would be the Bronze level because the Gold for instance addresses so many non-GAP issues. Private certification bodies and their accreditation bodies tend to be EU-based. In the EU, production is often mechanized, with efficient systems and farmers are mostly computer literate. The reverse is true for most developing countries where, everything including planting, spraying, harvesting, grading/sorting and packing is done by hand. Literacy levels are low and keeping simple data is not feasible in certain society quarters. The cost is enormous, the auditors are often rigid and many times dont understand production processes, often lacking an agronomic background themselves. What may be a control point in Holland may not necessarily be a control point in Kenya. Fertilizer application is done by hand; how do you calibrate, and keep maintenance records for the same! How do you determine when to irrigate if youre hundred percent dependent on rain or rely on a community owned water canal with every farmer allocated a specific day for irrigation, etc.

This calls for domestication of the international GAPs by developing National Interpretation Guidelines. However this language should not cloud the fact that accrediting bodies seem to push for similarity rather than equivalence because of withheld perceptions and orientations. Ghana Country case: Reflecting national conditions and Development priorities in National Codes on Good Agricultural Practices. Augustine Adongo, FAGE Mr. Adongo summarized the main findings of an UNCTAD-commissioned study. The awareness of GAP is relatively high among the export market sector, with the main focus being on EurepGAP Certification (both Option 1 and 2) driven by the buyers and farmers producing for export. At domestic level, awareness of GAP and Food Quality and safety is low, with the main focus of national policy and farmers being on food security (self-sufficiency). There are however several food safety and quality initiatives supported by donors and government. The general fresh produce industry response has been direct EurepGAP certification by large companies, but a slower response by small scale exporters (supplying speciality/export markets). Smallholders supplying large companies have obtained Option 2 Certification but the majority are not too keen because of lack of price premium, cost of certification and the documentation burden. There are many issues and challenges: pressure on industry leading to a kneejerk reaction and no industry strategy or common response; uncoordinated efforts; lack of leadership and unclear objectives. The following strategy for the way forward was proposed: 1) Stock-taking (who is doing what) 2) Harmonisation, coordination and consolidation 3) Developing conceptual clarity 4) Defining a sector wide/industry specific strategy

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5) Deciding the approach: multi-tier/multi-pronged 6) Cultivating a wider constituency for GAP, including domestic market & mainstreaming smallholder concerns Uganda Country case: Development of a strategy for implementation of a National GAP programme in Uganda. Musa Muwanga, NOGAMU and Umran Kaggwa, HPOU Uganda has experienced increased attention on food quality and safety and GAP at national level over recent years. In 2003 a National Taskforce on EurepGAP was initiated by the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF), with stakeholders nominated from the public and private sectors. A number of standards and guidelines have been developed by MAAIF and training activities initiated through export villages. Standard implementation and ownership of training has however been limited. Following an UNCTAD study and an FAO-funded national stakeholder consultation, a workshop organized by HPOU, MAAIF and FAO and involving all stakeholders was held in January 2007. Workshop participants agreed that Uganda should move forward on its on-going efforts to implement GAP, initially focusing on the implementation of GAP in the export sector. The meeting decided on initial elements of a strategy and on the creation of a GAP Steering Committee, with the private sector platform HPOU taking the lead in convening this Committee. The implementation steps decided at the workshop were: HPOU would convene first stakeholders meeting before end February 2007 (done); The Steering Committee will develop a Strategy, to be elaborated by Technical Sub-committees; and an Action Plan for implementation of GAP in Uganda; The Steering Committee will rely on member organisations to implement the Strategy while ensuring strategic planning and coordination.

Zimbabwe Country case study: Upgrading HPCs code of Practice into Zimbabwe-GAP: objectives and strategy. Basilio Sandamu, HPC Europe is the most important horticulture export destination market for Zimbabwe, accounting for 85% of flower, 70% of vegetable and 50% of citrus fruit exports. Growers were under increased pressure to conform to EU and other regulations and in 1997 work began on a Code of Practice as a first step to ensure growers would meet requirements of international markets. A project was carried out with the Ethical Trading Initiative which drew up a base code reflecting international labour and human rights standards. The Zimbabwe Horticulture Code of Practice had a membership of 81 producers in 2000. After the land reforms of 2000, a number of members and prospective members left the scheme. However, with the structural changes in agriculture the importance of compliance to Good Agricultural Practice is increasingly considered as critical for exports to remain competitive on the EU market. Priority areas to enhance compliance with both EU regulatory requirements and commercial standards were:

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1) Urgent review of the horticultural Code of Practice in line with new market requirements and Zimbabwean farming conditions for large and small farmers 2) Enhanced training for all stakeholders to conform to the Code of Practice 3) Dissemination of information for a better understanding of the export market.

Working Group Summary: Country Situation Analysis and Action Plans

Participants were broken into country-specific groups to analyze their country situation; highlight which areas were in most need of capacity building or other improvements, and formulate a realistic action plan. This analysis and action plan development was facilitated by the questions below: Table 5. Working Group 5 Discussion Questions
1. In country-specific working groups, carry out an analysis of your country situation/ country GAP programme/ code of practice by identifying the: Current country policy/programme/ Code of Practice and institutions involved in GAP, food safety and quality and market access. Market focus (Domestic/Export Market) Product focus (Horticulture/floriculture/other) Driving Actors (Public/Private Sector Stakeholders)

2.

Based on the discussions over the course of the workshop, identify a number of concrete needs/areas where national capacity building is necessary to strengthen your country GAP activities. 3. What nature of support would best address these needs? 4. Draw up a realistic action plan for your particular situation to prioritize these needs, nature of support, lead actor, envisaged time-frame and possible source of funding.

The diversity of country situations and priorities was evidenced in the development of country action plans. Below are a few key points that summarize the discussion, with the countries that specifically highlighted them, referenced in brackets. The full country-specific analysis and priorities actions identified by stakeholders from each country are presented in Annex 6. GAP Programme Focus While issues related to consumer demand in the domestic market were acknowledged as important (Kenya); it was appreciated that in the majority of countries GAP programmes were primarily driven by the private sector, dependant and focused on the export market. Some countries even stated that a comprehensive GAP programme for producers supplying the domestic market was not justified (Rwanda). Private Sector Mandate but joint responsibility Governments in a number of countries had mandated the private sector to take the lead and responsibility of the GAP programme (Zambia, Uganda). Many more participants acknowledged that the private sector is the largest driving force for GAP implementation (Ethiopia, Ghana). However all participants highlighted the fact that while the process may be private-sector driven, the interdependence on governments and donors to provide services and assistance is vital (Tanzania, Ghana, Kenya).

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Clear Focus and Plan of action It was clearly felt that the terms of reference and mission for a GAP development process were often missing, and had to be clearly identified for example through National country GAP strategy, plan of action or by developing a road-map of process (Zimbabwe, Kenya, Uganda). A structured approach to develop a comprehensive GAP system through an initial study, followed by national consultation meetings and design of an overall GAP system was suggested (Ethiopia). Codes of Practice development, implementation and updating Codes of Practice (COP) are being developed by both the private and the public sector, in various stages of implementation. The private sector has developed Codes of Practice (Ethiopia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Rwanda), which are export-market orientated. The public sector is also developing Codes of Practice for Agriculture (Tanzania) and Standards and guidelines (Uganda) with both a domestic and export focus. However, a critical mass is needed for such development, e.g. Burundi has only 1 major exporter of cut flowers and as an obvious consequence no national Code of Practice has been developed. It was recognized that as well as developing a national COP, maintenance and updating is a continual process (Zimbabwe). Information and Awareness, Training and Infrastructure Even though there was localized awareness for GAP issues e.g. at export level (Ghana) there was much information needed and much to learn. The consolidation, dissemination of existing information, development of national hazards or needs mapping, lessons learned from neighbors or neighbouring countries was mentioned by all participants. Creation of awareness among all stake-holders of specific GAP issues was also key (Uganda, Tanzania, Zimbabwe). The need for training of framers, trainers and auditors was highlighted in many, and even the numbers specified in some countries (Zambia). The need for infrastructure, laboratories, auditors, national accreditation service (Kenya, Tanzania) and institutional capacity building was universal. Donor Assistance Requested A number of requests were made formally and informally to FAO and other donors. In particular Tanzania had requested FAO assistance on support programme for GAP sensitisation and development, but had not yet received a response (it was agreed that the FAO team would try to identify who in FAO had received this request and follow-up). The structured approach to develop a comprehensive GAP system via a national country workshop, following the FAO assisted Uganda model was of interest in particular to Ethiopia. Conclusion Overall, the feeling was that GAP programmes were felt necessary to access markets, were here to stay, and that a focused programme and coordination between private, public bodies, research institutions, donors and farmers was needed to deal with the coming challenges and opportunities and take advantage of them.

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Regional Cooperation: Options and Recommendations

An open brainstorming session was then held to identify recommendations on how to promote regional cooperation on GAP. These are summarized in the table below. Table 6. Key actions to support an effective regional network on GAP

Expedite follow-up on the development of an East and Southern Africa Horticultural council (process currently supported by FAO) Regular Annual meetings Publications Linked websites Exchange study tours Create focal points List services and teleconferences Electronic working group Conference of industry representatives FPEAK/FAGE/HPOU/ZEGA etc Eastern and Southern Africa horticultural producers and exporters should work together to promote regional networking An East Africa Organic Standard has been developed by Government, Bureaus of Standard, ministries, farmers. Going to be approved by EAC Lots of collaboration of bulking exporters through national Organic organisations for regional export markets Opportunity for regional co-operation on hard/soft infrastructure e.g. testing facilities coordinating logistics of infrastructure transhipment point Coordination KEPHIS being supported as a centre of excellence Capacity building, an inventory of trainers within Africa COMESA umbrella List of business service developers and service providers should be developed COLEACP have a list of importers/exporters for contact

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9. Workshop Conclusions
Closing remarks were made by the representative from EurepGAP and donor agencies, followed by a concluding presentation from FAO and workshop evaluation.

Participant Remarks

Kerstin Uhlig, representing EurepGAP, pointed out that she had learned a lot about the perception, effect of and interpretation of EurepGAP by smallholder farmers in developing countries. She drew a few conclusions from the workshop. First, that she was grateful to have had a glimpse of country situations and in particular of the actual and potential difficulties for them in the benchmarking process, and that she would confer on this with the EurepGAP secretariat. She suggested that there may be a need to rethink how the benchmarking process is done to avoid making it complicated and documentation-driven. For many countries, the development of national interpretation guidelines may appear as a more practical alternative to consider. Second, she noted that the activity of national technical working groups or national task forces actually appears very intense, a voice that normally does not reach EurepGAP. Third, she announced the new initiative of GTZ/DFID/EurepGAP to soon appoint a EurepGAP ambassador on smallholder issues (Johannes Kern, who also attended the workshop), with the hope to improve the interface between smallholder concerns and the EurepGAP secretariat. This should be effective by May or June 2007. Keith Billing (DFID/BSMDP) and Morag Webb (COLEACP-PIP) representing the donors, summed up a few comments. Key points raised were that the workshop had been a very good opportunity to better understand the situation of countries in the subregion, and to exchange various among donors about strategies in support of the implementation of GAP. The workshop would have been strengthened by having a retailer from the importing countries; it could be helpful, if possible, to work at transposing the success of the Kenyan taskforce into other countries. They suggested that there was a need to have national technical committees for GAP; and to undertake a country status analysis. Issues of labour and workers health and safety were not well enough understood or applied.

Closing Presentation
Susan Minae, FAO Drawing from the presentations and discussions from the workshop, Susan Minae, FAO, gave the workshops closing presentation. She reiterated the workshop objectives and highlighted the points below. Main issues to emerge were summarized as: GAP has become a major issue in terms of food safety, environmental protection, social and labour responsibilities, with EU retailers and governments making demands from producers/ exporters on compliance Requirements to carry out certification and proof of operating traceability and quality management systems need to meet GAP standards for the export market

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Domestic market has yet to develop and establish an implementation system to respond to GAP in the sub-region

In the Sub - regional context: Currently country-level achievements on GAP implementation have almost exclusively been in response to export market demands (unlike in several Asian countries) GAP compliance is led to a large extent by the private sector (exporters and producers) but with support and collaboration from government and (sometimes important) donor funding Benefits from GAP documented and are overall positive GAP has shown to improve production and productivity, promote (to some extent) environmental protection through reduced use of chemical inputs, enhance social responsibility and relationships & conditions of farm workers, facilitate technical knowledge on good agricultural practices and farm management skills Training and awareness creation is a key activity in GAP The main issues arising regarding smallholder farmers and GAP were seen as: That they have the capacity to be technically compliant with GAP requirements However the initial investment costs are a major challenge and the recurrent costs often appear prohibitive. Small scale farmers have difficulties in maintaining certification especially the traceability documentation without the collaboration of exporters and donors Compliance to the different private retail standards in Europe are demanding and may have created shifts in the structure and size of farmers exporting to EU markets More Issues on the small-scale sector and GAP compliance. Experience to date would seem to imply that small scale farmers have to be organized into groups for efficient operations with efficiencies in the following areas: Co-ownership e.g. physical and technological infrastructure (safe storage of chemicals, waste chemical disposal, implements/ equipment e.g. knapsack sprayer, hygienic practices e.g. hand washing facilities, protective equipment) Capacity building and training (e.g. food safety and hygiene, pesticide handling training) Laboratory testing (MRL, plant, soil, irrigation water analysis) Certification and verification (farm visits and inspection, certification and inspection fees) Record-keeping and traceability (recording and documentation) Marketing facilities and support services e.g. packing sheds, cold storage and transport For smallholders to be competitive in export markets there appears minimum farm size and/or scale of production that is required, in compensate for the additional cost of certification and investments, farm infrastructure and business managerial skills. This size differs countries. However independent economic and financial data would be to be a order to upgrade between required

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to reach consensus on such threshold size, as differing views were expressed in this regard. Group certification is perceived as an alternative to facilitate smallholders certification provided that: Strong group cohesion and efficient management structures are in place to enhance transparency and effective functioning of the group Good contractual arrangements are maintained with buyers (exporters) Access to financial and credit facilities is ensured Access to markets is ensured Farm management and agri-business skills are developed Emerging issues included: Coordination of actors in food chain is necessary Donors have been taking different approaches in setting up BDS; Capacity building in GAP and agribusiness management is crucial for farmer groups Development of agri-business linkages and support services required Need for establishment of farm data management systems Need for interpretation of GAP requirements to the local situation To make private voluntary standards more accessible to the smallholders in developing countries, it should be ensured that: -requirements are not discriminatory and disproportionate to the risk involved; -compliance criteria are appropriate to Developing Country context; and -there is proper interpretation by auditors of laboratory samples and analysis On National GAP strategies, different strategies may include: Consideration of a step-by-step or two-tier GAP Strategy (e.g. Bronze/Silver/Gold levels of GAP for domestic/ export markets). Consideration of policy trade-offs, which take full consideration of the impact and inclusiveness of smallholder farmers Advanced countries/farmers: Consideration of individual larger farmer EurepGAP compliance, with group compliance for smaller farmers. Other options/ tools could include a combination of a) development of National interpretation guidelines (if no national GAP scheme exists) b) benchmarking national GAP scheme to EurepGAP (if it exists) c) promotion strategy of GAP to domestic middle class consumers or d) introduction of a voluntary two-tier GAP (for domestic or export markets). Less advanced countries/farmers: Consideration of individual larger farmer EurepGAP compliance with a focus on infrastructure and business skills development for smaller farmers (i.e. a basics first strategy). Other options can include considering different market channels (e.g. Organic, Fair Trade, regional, domestic) or the development of a national (non-benchmarked) GAP scheme, as a voluntary tool to upgrade the industry. Major components which a national GAP programme needs to include: (a) Clarity in market demand and support (clarify target markets and key actors) (b) Established stakeholder coordination mechanisms (e.g. Steering Committee/ Task Force) (c) Concerted and clear Strategy (market focus; benchmarking options)

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(d) Standards and documentation (adapted to national circumstances & legal requirements) (e) Reliable inspection, certification, laboratory services (establish or strengthen) (f) Infrastructure and Capacity Building (Farm infrastructure, training, service providers)

Workshop Evaluation

Participants evaluated the workshop on the last day. Boards were put up in the workshop area and participants were encouraged to post cards on their opinion of what went well, and what could have gone better over the course of the workshop. Many positive experiences were voiced as well as suggestions from participants for programme improvement which are summarized below.
Table 7. Participants Workshop Evaluation

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What What

went really well? Key country representatives representing relevant stakeholders. Very good interaction and networking. Good overview and summary presentation. Great participants list. Very active participation by all. Representation from several countries. The venue was very good. Good discussions. Networking possibilities. Good representation from all stakeholders. High quality of country case studies. Great learning experience. KEPHIS was a warm host. could have gone better? Less/shorter presentations with more discussions. Time allocation too limited for some presentations. Stricter time keeping. Little time for group discussions and conclusions and interactions. Programme quite tight, some repetitions. Field visits could have been longer.

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Annexes Annex 1: Introductory remarks and speeches Annex 2: Participant Workshop Expectations and Key GAP implementation Elements Annex 3: Session 1 Facilitated Panel: Country Perspectives on Cost of Compliance and Initial Solutions Annex 4: Session 2 Working Groups: Promising Strategies to enhance Smallholders Competitiveness Annex 5: Economic impact of the EurepGAP standard on small to large
scale producers and on farm worker welfare in Kenya

Annex 6: Session 5 Working Groups: Country Situational Analysis and Action Plans Annex 7: Participant List Annex 8: Workshop Programme

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Annex 1: Introductory remarks and speeches OPENING SPEECH FOR HONOURABLE KIPRUTO ARAP KIRWA, EGH, MP AND MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE, DURING THE REGIONAL WORKSHOP GOOD AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES (GAP) IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA: PRACTICES AND POLICIES 6TH TO 9TH MARCH, 2007 AT KEPHIS HEADQUARTERS IN NAIROBI, KENYA Representatives of FAO UNCTAD, Distinguished guests, Participants from various countries in Eastern and Southern Africa, Members of the National Taskforce on Horticulture (Kenya), Ladies and Gentlemen, I wish to welcome all of you to Kenya and the city of Nairobi. It gives me great pleasure to officiate at this regional workshop that I am sure contributes to meeting human requirement for safe quality food. Ladies and Gentlemen: As nations and as trading blocs, countries of the southern and eastern region face similar challenges of development especially with regard to agriculture. And yet agriculture is strategic to the social and economic development of out region, as the engine of national growth, especially rural development. Agriculture therefore plays a monumental role towards the realisation of all the Eight United Nations Millennium Development Goals especially the one on eradication of extreme poverty and hunger. Ladies and Gentlemen: The food that we produce market and consume, must be safe and of the quality desired by the consumer. It must be produced, processed and marketed in a manner that does not jeopardise the lives of our people. It is therefore important to harmonise practices and standards to foster beneficial regional links and facilitate responsive and responsible regional and international trade. In this regard, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the United Nations Food and agriculture (FAO), for charting a way forward through provision of Good Agricultural Practices guidelines. These shareware guidelines are helpful baseline documents particularly to developing nations. They offer a credible reference in formulating frameworks for meeting regulatory and commercial requirements of agricultural trade. Ladies and Gentlemen: The use of these guidelines will be evidenced by their incorporation by governments into their technical regulations, industry into various national and international standards and codes of practice, and, their implementation in food production systems. In most farm to fork assurance schemes, Good agricultural practices are a pre-requisite program. Standards that have incorporated GAP practices include EurepGAP, Fair Trade, Natures Choice and BRC (British Retail Consortium) to name a few. These standards lay emphasis of food safety, the protection of the environment and social/ethical accountability. In Kenya, GAP is incorporated in the National Code of Conduct standard KS 1758. We are also currently reviewing relevant policy and legislative tools to better

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reflect GAP requirements. GAP is also incorporated in industry standards such as the codes of practice of the Kenya Flower Council (KFC) and Fresh Produce Exporters Association of Kenya (FPEAK). GAP advocates for safe, effective, and sustainable use of resources and personnel to produce safe, high quality food. It defines the key elements of Agricultural best practice and recognises the need for traceability. GAP implementation is therefore highly intensive on documentation; it requires the development of supportive infrastructure and skills, for both farmers and service providers. Integration of Good Agricultural Practice into production systems is therefore a major challenge to industry and government. While food safety is mainly a regulatory issue, quality is mainly a commercial issue. GAP implementation requires close partnerships between public and private sectors. In Kenya, the Strategy for Revitalising Agriculture (SRA) the vision is a viable and vibrant agricultural sector that is commercially oriented and internationally competitive. This in essence implies that agricultural activities have to be commercialised by facilitating active participation by the private sector at all levels. Ladies and Gentlemen: You will agree with me that surveillance and policing of Government legislation is a challenge for most governments. Voluntary quality and safety assurance schemes that can be audited verified are therefore invaluable in implementing GAP. These do have to be legal and ensure consumer confidence both nationally and internationally. At this juncture, allow me to take this opportunity to appreciate the efforts and accomplishment of the Kenya Horticulture Industry towards GAP implementation. The Kenya Flower Councils seventh edition of the code of practice has been benchmarked against EurepGAP standard and is now accredited. FPEAK is benchmarking its code of practice against the EurepGAP standard and has renamed it KENYAGAP. Certification remains a big hurdle due to the physical infrastructure needed and the cost of certification services. I would like to thank the development partners have assisted in GAP implementation and certification to market standards for smallholder producers and service providers. I especially thank them for their efforts towards showing the face of our smallholder farmer to the owners of the standards such as EurepGAP and European consumers. Ladies and Gentlemen: I would like to thank all the organisers of this timely workshop The Kenya government supports initiatives that bring together players from various countries of the world in information sharing. It is my hope that the workshop will bring the participating countries closer to enhance Good Agricultural Practices, learn from each other and come up with a way forward in upscale good practices and mitigating poor practice. With these remarks I declare the Regional Workshop on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) in Eastern and Southern Africa: Practices and Policies officially open. Thank you and please take some time and visit the rest of our country

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OPENING REMARKS By Mr. Camarada FAO Representative in Kenya Delivered at the Regional Workshop on Good Agricultural Practices in Eastern and Southern Africa: Practices and Policies organized by FAO-UNCTAD-National Taskforce on Horticulture in Kenya Nairobi, Kenya, 6 9 March 2007

Distinguished participants, Ladies and gentlemen. It is a privilege for me to welcome you all on behalf of FAO to this regional workshop on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) in Eastern and Southern Africa. Allow me first to express FAOs sincere appreciation of the close collaboration which we enjoy with the National Taskforce on Horticulture in Kenya, and with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), who are cohosting this workshop with us. The facilitation of this process by the Kenyan Plant Health Inspection Service (KEPHIS) is very much appreciated. It is indeed an honour for FAO to be able to support this event. World agriculture in the twenty-first century is faced with three main challenges: - to improve food security, rural livelihoods and income; - to satisfy the increasing and diversified demands for safe food and other products; and, - to conserve and protect natural resources. These challenges have been articulated by the international community through the World Food Summit Plan of Action and the Millennium Development Goals, with specific targets to be met by 2015. Agriculture is expected to assure food security in a range of settings, now and in the future, and is increasingly called upon to produce positive environmental, social and economic benefits. FAO believes that Good Agricultural Practices, if they are implemented well and with the right strategy, may and should help adapt to these changes. In Eastern and Southern Africa, Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) has been for several years a topic of interest for many countries as an issue facing the public and private sector, research bodies, donor agencies and farmers. So, why GAP? FAO defines four pillars of Good Agricultural Practices that apply to all scales of farming: Efficient production of sufficient, safe and high quality food and non-food products; Sustainable use of natural resources; Profitability of farming enterprises and a contribution to sustainable livelihoods;

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Responsiveness to the cultural and social demands of society. Practically speaking, GAPs are a prerequisite for a food chain approach to ensure food safety and quality which includes Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs), Good Hygienic Practices (GHPs), Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), and can make use of the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) approach. But also, the concept of good agricultural practices should serve as a reference tool for deciding, at each step in the production process, on practices that are sustainable as well as safe. FAO has experienced for several years a rapidly growing demand for assistance from its member countries on GAP. FAO has a broad range of technical expertise relating to GAP and Sustainable Agriculture for Rural Development (SARD): not only on food safety and quality, and regulatory requirements of Codex Alimentarius and the International Plant Protection Convention, but also on IPM and Integrated Soil Fertility Management, sustainable use of natural resources and biodiversity, environmental impacts of agriculture, and value chains analysis and marketing. In line with guidance provided by FAO member countries through FAOs Committee on Agriculture, FAOs work on GAP focuses on three main areas: First, providing global, independent information on GAP, including through a GAP website and GAP database and analytical inventories on existing GAP standards. Second, defining scientifically-based global principles of GAP, based on FAOs long standing experience in food and agriculture and thirdly, providing policy and technical assistance to developing countries, helping them review or define their GAP programmes, understand policy trade-offs and potential benefits. In the past few years, many regional or country activities, training programmes, workshops and studies on GAP and SARD for non-food crops, grain, fruit, vegetables and livestock products have been implemented by FAO in Burkina Faso, Kenya, Uganda, Namibia, South Africa, Egypt, Thailand, Malaysia, Chile and many other countries of Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean, and Africa. So what about GAP in Eastern and Southern Africa? In response to quality requirements of both domestic and export markets, many countries have taken first steps towards the development, introduction and implementation of GAP standards. Kenya is well advanced in the benchmarking of KenyaGAP to EurepGAP, and has been at the forefront of the implementation of GAP in Sub-Saharan Africa in recent years. In January 2007, Uganda decided to establish a Steering Committee on GAP and many countries who gathered here today have their own Codes of Practice for horticultural produce. Many activities and recent studies, by international agencies and others in the region, are confronting head-on and with realism, the situation of small holder farmers involved in the global horticulture market. Irrespective of location, it is recognized that there remain a number of significant challenges. Our experience indicates that the implementation of GAP induces at least four challenges:

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first, there is a need for clear objectives and strategies at national level about the benefits to be derived from GAP implementation: is the targeted market domestic? Regional, wholesale, or European retail? And to what extent does it require GAP? What are the chances for national producers to become or remain suppliers in global supply chains? How may GAP help promote food safety in domestic markets? Such well targeted strategies need to be defined in cooperation between government services (food safety, crop production, extension), and private sector players, to ensure that all dimensions are appropriately addressed. second, countries have to ensure that smaller-scale producers in developing countries are not too severely hit by private requirements on GAP, that the constraints of smallholders are taken into account when defining GAP programmes, and that adequate attention is given to low-cost technologies and training for small-scale farmers; thirdly, we need to make sure that the growing number of public and private initiatives for good agricultural practices do not burden farmers and governments with multiple codes and regulations which are not harmonized nor equivalent. On the one hand, transparency should be guaranteed to avoid uncertainty about misleading claims or influence of special interests. On the other, professional associations, retailers, packers, and exporters and private certification businesses have a legitimate role to play in GAP implementation, if any GAP programme is to be successful. fourthly, we need to support the development of GAP standards which foster real environmental and social benefits, as these dimensions are sometimes superficially addressed in GAP codes. It is such challenges that led the National Taskforce on Horticulture in Kenya, UNCTAD and FAO to organize this important workshop, with support from an FAO project on GAP and SARD in Kenya and Uganda, currently funded by the Government of Norway. It is essential that this workshop brings together all key stakeholders - public and private; national and international - to jointly meet the objectives: Facilitate exchange on challenges and opportunities of GAP and strategic options for East and Southern African countries; particular attention should be given to viable approaches and supportive policies for small-scale producers. Draw lessons to prepare recommendations and guidance for implementation of GAP at national level. Identify potential areas of cooperation on GAP at regional level. Discuss follow-up activities and coordination needs by donors and other actors. Our hope is that this workshop is used to analyse the reality of the situation facing smallholders and other producers in developing countries supplying national, regional and international markets. We hope that the presentations, discussions, field visits and brainstorming should facilitate the examination of specific issues and outstanding challenges, and determine future priorities for further development. With this, I wish you a very productive and constructive workshop, and look forward to hearing about its outcome. Thank you.

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Annex 2: Participant Workshop Expectations and Key GAP implementation Elements Exchange of Experiences Know more about GAP; GAP certification standards Strategies and experiences of GAP implementation in different countries Concrete ideas on a way forward for countries to practice GAP Empowering and engaging small holder farmers The most cost effective way to implement; support and sustain GAP with smallholder farmers, especially under new standard regimes An all-inclusive work plan to reach all farmers with GAP; Ideas and steps on how to proceed to make GAP certification easier for small scale farmers; Can GAP standards be pro-poor or should they just reflect industry demands? GAP Implementation at National Level How to implement national GAPs to work effectively for all growers To have quality standards implemented in the domestic market; A common goal and strategy to make GAP nationally-owned and pro poor; To understand what the framework for UGANDA GAP will be like; A winning strategy for Ugandas small holder farmers and exporters for integrating in prime (export) markets in spite of stiff GAP requirements; Clear National Strategies Clarity on national strategy to adopt GAP; An idea of an effective strategy if incorporating GAP into existing production systems Strategies for promoting GAP in developing countries; Explore two tier system so that growers without competitive advantage in export can use local GAPS for other markets Regional Cooperation Strategies to foster and integrate regional activities; Explore how exporters in the region can work together and hire air freighters; Develop a networking platform for sharing; Develop a network of professionals interested in promoting GAP in developing and developed countries, Interaction with Standard holders Interaction with the retailers/supermarkets who have set the BRC/EurepGAP requirements to gauge how they rate our products Social and Political Issues GAP role on social issues, including a way forward Political cost to promote GAP domestically (would it raise costs?)

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Participant Views of Key Elements to be considered in implementing GAP in Eastern and Southern Africa Information and Training Sharing information and experiences. What is the size of the domestic/regional market? Need to create awareness for GAP for domestic consumers. Selection and use of chemicals. Training. Capacity Building Capacity building. Local certification capacity. Technology transfer. Need to build capacities (service, providers, etc). Harmonisation and Collaboration Collaboration. Harmonization at national and international level. Local interpretation/language. Cost How to contain cost or minimize the cost of EurepGAP audit. Costs and sources of funds. Infrastructure Supportive infrastructure Strengthening infrastructure for safety and quality monitoring. Market Focus Market focus e.g. EU vs. ASIAN markets. Need strategy to promote quality of export products for middleclass domestic markets. Policy Issues Policy issues. How do we scale up to a national level? (Policy, cost, training, etc). Maintenance of the system. (GAP). National GAPS should take better into account environmental issues and workers health and safety.

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Annex 3: Session 1 Facilitated Panel: Country Perspectives on Cost of Compliance and Initial Solutions To start the workshop with an appreciation of the specific challenges in implementing GAP across Africa, the following questions were asked to 5 country representatives in the first morning of the workshop. Key conclusions drawn from these interventions are summarized in section 3 of the present Report. 1) Ethiopia: What do you think is the major financial constraint for smallholders to adopt GAP, and why? What are the other costs that cause problems? Sissy Habte, Ethiopian Horticultural Producers and Exporters Association Smallholder production of Fresh Fruit and Vegetable in Ethiopia is mostly exported to regional markets (over 65% to neighbouring African countries) with some green beans and melon exported to the Netherlands and Germany. In Ethiopia, no smallholders (defined as less than 1 ha) have been EurepGAP certified. Of the larger growers, 2 state-owned enterprises and 2 private growers are EurepGAP certified. Another is in the process of certification. Ethiopia faces problems which are very similar to other countries: Main issues: Costs: Infrastructure, logistic and administration costs are very high, especially for individual certification; no certified laboratory. IPM system does currently not exist in the country Group certification approach is therefore very important. Production must first be improved before marketing and certification can be done. 2) Zambia: What has been the experience and financial hurdles in implementing GAP so far in your country? What will be the major problems in the future for smallholders? Perry Ngoma; Zambian Export Growers Association (ZEGA) When GAP was first introduced as a concept into the farming sector in Zambia, the biggest challenge was to create awareness, from top management down. Zambia introduced a system for improving local GAP, with an initial two year period given for each export company to comply, with various monitoring and targets in place. Zambia was fortunate since awareness on the local GAP emerged before Eurepgap certification became important. Main issues: Training and capacity building of staff is the biggest financial constraint as turnover of staff necessitates continual re-training. Costs are many; ranging from training, farm inspections, establishment of traceability systems, recording systems, internal and external auditing Donor support has been strong in Zambia, for training and creation of awareness (COLEACP-PIP). Harmonised regional GAP approach would make communication with the outside world easier. 3) Uganda: How do you think government and private sector should work together to plan and facilitate implementation of GAP?

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Florence Kata, Uganda Export Promotion Board (UEPB) The fresh fruit and vegetable sector has a lot of potential but farmers are struggling with the quality and quantity requirements of export markets. Uganda is doing well in the region. Government has trained 24 Exporters, and 1200 farmers; and 2 laboratories (diagnostic and residues) were set up. Main issues: Public private partnerships: Governments and private sector should help smallholders, in the size range of 0.5 -2 ha. Clustering: The government should help groups to cluster around a private sector processor, to enable the creation of linkages and economies of scale. Subsided services Government should support testing, R& D, marketing processing etc. Alternative markets are considered e.g. organic production. Donor Assistance- should be focused by Government on actual country needs. Sustainability donor assistance is valuable but farmers must be able to continue when donors leave. 4) Tanzania: What do you think will be the critical financial constraints for the government and other public institutions in implementing GAP? Adah Mdesa Mwasha, Ministry Of Agriculture Food Security & Cooperatives. The government in Tanzania took the initiative of creating awareness with private sector, especially exporters, and sensitised some farmers to form into groups, with some farmers certified in vegetable/ coffee production in Northern Tanzania. Awareness creation was not an easy task, and the Ministry of Agriculture needs money to create awareness and capacity to implement better practices. Last year, the Tanzanian government set aside funds to help smallholders (1 billion shillings for each region) to help farmers borrow money and improve activities. More resources may be needed. Main issues: Technologies transfer to farmers, currently inadequate; expert personnel are needed to bring new practices to farmers. Marketing a lot of ground work is needed to move farmers forward; a relatively new area; capacity building of traders; links with farmers needed. Group Formation- to decrease cost of certification. Record keeping of smallholders has to be improved. Infrastructure and getting produce to market in a clean hygienic condition (need storage, transport, cold chain system) Information - GAP is helping in promoting environmental conservation initiatives, including the impact of excess chemicals but more farmer education is needed. 5) Kenya: What are feasible strategies which you have implemented to reduce costs of compliance and what were the critical success factors? Cosmas Kyengo- FPEAK (See Main Report)

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Annex 4: Session 2 Working Groups: Promising Strategies to enhance Smallholders Competitiveness Participants were split into four groups to brainstorm and identify actions or strategies to enhance small holder competitiveness and support GAP implementation. For each of the strategies identified, their advantages, disadvantages were analysed, which institutions (public/ private) or stakeholders (donor/ exporter/ farmer) should take a lead role and potential source of funding. These strategies were then discussed to see how realistic they were in each specific country situation. Group one: Specific actions/ strategies to support capacity building for farmers, service providers and exporters: Develop national interpretation guidelines for international standards and communicate on them to producers, exporters and auditors Support farmers and exporter associations to enable their participation in standards setting Support trade exporters associations. Develop and consolidate training materials for farmers Generic Manual. Develop training generic material and support documents as shareware Include GAP in curriculum of agriculture schools Group formation and development Development of capacity building among farmers groups Group two: Specific actions/ strategies to support Business Development Services: Financial Services (e.g. insurance, credit schemes) Capacity Building Services Market Linkage Services (e.g. record keeping, market information) Input Supply Services How realistic is the strategy: Probably government services are not up to date on emerging issues but also there is the need to look critically at market supply. How to access financial services may differ among DgCs, usually farmers have low bargaining capabilities. Micro-credit is not considered an alternative due to limitations. The higher demands on capacity building and training are in relation to business skills and pest management. The Chile experience to create a scheme where farmers choose what type of training they needed was discussed. Exporters have already efficient capacity building services but they are not always accessible to smallholders. Group three: Specific actions/ strategies to support Infrastructure and Institutional Investments: Development of effective farmer groups with good management systems Cost sharing Provision of subsidized testing and analytical services

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Improvement of road and communication network in the rural areas

How realistic is the strategy: Groups are a fine way of reaching many small growers. Cost sharing will be mainly through in kind contribution rather than cash. It may also require the exporter to invest and later deductions are made at the time of harvest. Governments have constructed road network and communication in most rural areas but their maintenance by local governments remains a challenge. Provision of subsidized services may be possible in the infancy stage of GAP but commercial and private sector should come in with a strong motivation early on for sustainability. Group four: Specific actions/ strategies to support National Strategies and Mechanisms for Coordination: Establish a catalytic forum composed of all stakeholders from the public and private sector Provide technical capacity building for small holder farmers to enhance their conception and understanding of GAP Provide access to credit/ funding for the smallholder farmers, in the form of microfinance or substitutes/ grants to assist in putting in place the necessary infrastructure and systems Explore other market options such as organic, fair-trade and conventional wholesale market Invest in farmer group formation and cohesion building to promote collective marketing and group implementation of GAP. How realistic is the strategy: Questions that were raised in the discussions included: How do you maintain vibrancy in Multi-stakeholder National taskforces? How do you create and manage effective farmers groups? What kind of funding is appropriate for establishing farmers groups and supporting farmers into a GAP certification regime should it be commercial funding through the exporters or Government and Donor funding?

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Table 8. Specific actions/ strategies to enhance Smallholders Competitiveness Identified strategy Advantages Disadvantages Lead actor(s) Potential funding source Financial Institution

Group two: Specific actions/ strategies to support Business Development Services Mechanism to access More power to access Group cohesion is a Farmer financial services in funds and mobilise factor of TIME group/association farmer group credit cooperative Risk distributed across more people Local capacity building services Closer to farmer Equivalence - to ensure consistency - is critical Public / private depending on country and situation -

Probably External

Building BDS with Local, Cheaper home grown solutions e.g. certification/training/scou ting Group three: Specific actions/ strategies to support Infrastructure and Institutional Investments Effective farmer groups More cost effective to Decision making is Farmers Exporters manage groups than slow/conflicts are Buyers individuals bound to happen Cost sharing Creates a sense of Culture of group Buyers Donors ownership ownership is not well Exporters developed Farmers Subsidized testing and Reduced cost at the Sustainability is Government Government analytical services beginning as farmers questionable in some Donors build capacity public institutions Improved road and Creates accessibility to Government priority Government Government communication network rural areas may not coincide with Donors the strategy Group four: Specific actions/ strategies to support National Strategies and Mechanisms for Coordination

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Establish forum

Catalytic Easy implementation none identified since all stakeholders are involved Forum could constitute into a powerful lobby group on behalf of the small scale farmer Provide Technical Smallholders are more none identified Capacity building for capable and keen to small holder farmers implement GAP in some cases Provide Access to credit/ funding for the smallholder farmers, to assist in putting in place the necessary infrastructure and systems Explore other market options such as organic, fair-trade and conventional wholesale market Invest in Farmer group formation and cohesion building -Readily available none identified funds to improve quality infrastructure at farmers level

Private sector, but this should depend on how powerful and vibrant the private sector is in the respective country Exporters/ Private Sector but government to play an active role especially where farmers are not involved in export -Government -Private sector/ Exporters -Saving Schemes among the farmers -

Cost Share: Private SectorGovernmentDevelopmental partners

none identified

none identified

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Annex 5: Economic impact of the EurepGAP standard on small to large scale producers and on farm worker welfare in Kenya by Mithfer, D.1, Asfaw, S.2, Ehlert, C.2, Mausch, K.2, Waibel, H.2
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ICIPE - International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, P.O. Box 30772-00100 Nairobi, Kenya, [email protected]. 2 Leibniz University of Hannover, Faculty of Economics and Management, Knigsworther Platz 1, 30167 Hannover, Germany, [email protected]. Paper presented at the Regional Workshop Good Agriculture Practices in Eastern and Southern Africa: Practices and Policies. Organised by FAO, UNCTAD and the Kenyan National Task Force on Horticulture. Held at KEPHIS, Nairobi, Kenya, 6 - 9 March 2007. Introduction In Kenya, many smallholders produce horticultural crops, i.e. fruits, vegetables and flowers, for the domestic and the export market. These are high value crops generating relatively high returns per hectare and the export sub-sector is one of the major sources of foreign exchange in Kenya. Export production contributes directly and indirectly to an increase of rural (and urban) incomes and alleviation of poverty (McCulloch and Ota, 2002); however, production standards like the European Retailer Produce Working Group for Good Agricultural Practices (EurepGAP) pose a challenge to the Kenyan export sector. To date, it is not clear whether such standards impede actors from developing countries from entering or remaining in high-value food markets (Augier et al., 2005) or constitute a catalyst for upgrading and modernization of developing countrys food supply systems (Jaffee and Henson, 2004; Maertens and Swinnen, 2006). The aim of this paper is to provide a brief summary of ongoing research activities on the economic impact of EurepGAP standard in Kenya. The studies are part of a collaborative research project between ICIPE (International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, Nairobi, Kenya, see appendix) and the Leibniz University of Hannover (Germany) with financial support by the German Federal Ministry for Cooperation and Development (BMZ). In detail, our research addresses the economic impact of EurepGAP standard on small and medium to large-scale producers as well as on farm worker welfare and discusses preliminary findings with respect to achieving development goals. Survey design and data collection In collaboration with experts of the horticulture sector and the Ministry of Agriculture, major horticultural export production areas in Kenya were identified. In those areas four surveys were conducted. Initially, a census of all smallholder producers in vegetable export production as well as their certification status was conducted in nine districts of Eastern and Central Province (June August 2005) (Mithfer et al., 2006). Based on the census, a random sample of 539 smallholders was interviewed with respect to household characteristics and resource base. Household production including all inputs and outputs was monitored from September 2005 to August 2006. The sample consisted of 100 producers for the domestic market, 149 EurepGAP adopters (47 certified and 102 in the process of certification in September 20059) as well as 290 non-adopters. Additionally, medium to large export vegetable producers were surveyed from
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During the course of the monitoring period, some smallholders switched from being in the process of EurepGAP certification to being certified.

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December 2005 February 2006 This survey comprised 18 contracted and eight exporter-owned farms, the information collected was similar to the smallholder survey. Finally, farm workers of a sub-sample of the smallholder and medium to large-scale farms were interviewed with respect to welfare measures (August October 2006). Preliminary results Since the analysis is still ongoing, the results presented here have to be considered preliminary. Where applicable, papers are cited for further reference. More information on the studies as well as publications will be available from the authors in due course. Adoption of EurepGAP and its financial impact on smallholders This study addresses two questions, (1) which factors explain the smallholder decision to adopt EurepGAP standard and, (2) what is the financial impact of the standard on smallholders? Data are analyzed by using a two-stage standard treatment effect model. Our results show that adopters and non-adopters are distinguishable by their asset holding and household wealth, access to services, labor endowment and level of education. After controlling for endogeneity, the second step of the model shows that small-scale producers benefit from adopting the standard at farm level. Most adopters appreciate increased prices and timely payments as well as improved access to markets and thus security as major benefits of adopting the standard (for further detail see Asfaw et al., 2007). Cost of compliance with EurepGAP and its implications for small and medium to large-scale producers In order to broaden the analysis, this study answers four questions, namely (1) what are the contractual arrangements between farmers and exporters; (2) what are the farm-level investments due to EurepGAP regulations at different types of farms; (3) when does EurepGAP certification pay off; and, (4) how profitable do different types of certified farms operate? The study compared the certified small farms of the previous study to certified medium to large-scale farms. In a first step typical farm models were developed based on mean and median values of selected indicators from survey data. These are models of typical certified smallholder farms (N=47), medium to large contracted farms (N=18) and medium to large exporter-owned farms (N=8). Farm models were validated in discussion with horticultural experts in Kenya. The farm models show differences in farm size as per definition for the smallholders but also for the two types of large scale farms, share of land allocated to export production as well as the number of crops grown for the export market. Exporter-owned farms are largest with about 250 acres of which 100% are under export production of six different crops; contracted farms allocate on average 35 acres to export vegetables, which constitute 52% of their farmland, producing five crops whereas smallholders allocated about 48% of their farm to export production (0.77 acre) and produce three different crops. The major crop for smallholders are French beans whereas the two different largescale farm types concentrate more on baby varieties which are more sensitive towards production parameters. Taking the example of French beans, the comparison of the farm types shows that smallholders operate on a lower inputoutput level with a turnover-cost ratio similar to that of exporter-owned farms. This simple efficiency measure shows that although smallholders produce lower yields they operate at a similar efficiency level as the exporter-owned farms and more efficiently than the contracted farms. Costs of compliance of the three farm models were compared based on EurepGAP-related investment costs as borne by

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the farms. This shows that although smallholders received substantial support by exporters and donors, they break even about three years after certification as compared to one month for exporter-owned and just over one year for contracted farms. Whereas large farms have more levels in the internal hierarchy than smallholders, the latter have to band together in groups to achieve certification, which results in transaction costs not at the farm but at the group level in terms of group interaction. From the exporter perspective, costs of sourcing produce vary between the different farm types, which also includes varying transaction costs. Exporters employ own personnel to monitor smallholder production. On average exporters monitor smallholder production with 3.5 hours per acre and week whereas contracted medium to large-scale farms are only monitored at a rate of 0.1 hours per week and acre. Taking different prices into account that the two farms types receive for their produce, from an exporter perspective, it is still cheaper to source from smallholders than from medium to large-scale farms (Mausch, 2007). Effect of EurepGAP certification and farm size on farm worker welfare In order to holistically capture the effect of the private standard on all stakeholders in production, this study assessed the link between farm size as well as EurepGAP certification and income, health, housing, happiness and job satisfaction. The analysis is based on a random sample of 216 farm workers of certified and non-certified small-scale farms as well as 100 farm workers of certified medium to large-scale farms. As stated before, the farms, i.e. the first stage of sampling, are a sub-sample of the previous studies. Data are analysed using probit models. Preliminary results show that on large farms employees receive significantly higher payments but self-reported effort at work does not vary with farm size. Further, employees at large farms are monitored more intensely than those at small farms. Employees at large scale farms benefit significantly from health care offered as part of the work contract although self-reported health was not better than that of farm workers at smallscale farms. The comparison of welfare between farm workers on certified and non-certified small-scale farms shows that protective clothing is more prevalent on certified farms although self reported health is not significantly better. On certified farms job satisfaction was not significantly higher and workers report less work effort than their colleagues at the non-certified farms (Ehlert, in progress). Discussion and conclusions with respect to national good agricultural practice schemes Results show that adoption of EurepGAP standards has a significant positive impact on smallholder farm financial performance; however, this needs to be further assessed in order to account for the part of recurring costs of the standard that smallholders have to bear. Smallholders operate on a lower inputoutput level and are on average overall as efficient as large farms. Even though smallholders indirectly received considerable support from donors, i.e. through donor investment in capacity building and in some instances infrastructure, they take longer than large farms to break-even. Transactions costs for sourcing produce from smallholders are higher than sourcing from large-scale farms, however, overall sourcing cost from smallholders is still cheaper than sourcing from large-farm. Also, by sourcing from smallholders, climatic risk of production can be diversified across a wider area across the country. Larger farms pay considerably higher wages and provide higher value non-monetary benefits; at small-scale farms EurepGAP certification has significant positive influence on household living conditions and the use of protective clothing. Since analysis is

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still on going no final conclusions can be drawn with respect to the type of farm to support and policy measures to support smallholder participation. For a full comparison of large to small-scale export production one needs to take into account employment and associated welfare effects for all types of farms as well as varying levels of transaction costs for sourcing of the produce. Further, so far no final conclusion with respect to the impact of the standard on the whole of the horticulture sector can be drawn. In order to do so non-financial benefits, e.g. potential health and environmental benefits, need to be taken into account as well as potential spillover effects on the domestic sector. So, what is the scope for national policies on good agricultural practices, especially for the domestic market? The following briefly highlights two aspects that arise from the EurepGAP studies: Comparing the domestic to the export vegetable market one needs to take into account the services export companies provide to producers. One of these are exporter-employed agronomists who provide extension services to the associated smallholders. Although no figures are available to allow for a comparison of extension services provided by the private sector to that of the public sector, services of the latter are constrained due to a relative lack of operational funds (Muyanga and Jayne, 2006) whereas the private sector counterparts do not face such problems. Further, exporters also enforce the standard and respond to standard violations. Thus national GAP schemes also need to assess the institutional setting for putting monitoring and enforcement mechanisms into place. Way forward - further research Analysis will further assess the impact of EurepGAP standards on pesticide use and smallholder health as well as efficiency. Additionally, spill over effects of export standards on smallholder domestic production will be analysed. Another area of research is to assess to what extend integrated pest management and biological control strategies can contribute to good agricultural practices and meeting respective standards. Since smallholders are mostly organised in groups in order to achieve certification and anecdotal evidence stresses groups characteristics as one major success factor in the process, another study analyses farmer group characteristics and dynamics and their contribution to successful export participation. This is also relevant in the light of reorganisation of agricultural extension services in Kenya, which have taken a group-based approach. References Asfaw, S., Mithfer, D. and Waibel, H. (2007). What Impact Are EU Supermarket Standards Having on Developing Countries Export of High-Value Horticultural Products? Evidence from Kenya. Contributed paper prepared for presentation at the 105th EAAE Seminar International Marketing and International Trade of Quality Food Products, Bologna, Italy, March 8-10, 2007. Augier, P., Gasiorek, M., and Lai Tong, C. (2005). The impact of rules of origin on trade flows. Economic Policy, 20(43), pp. 567-623. Ehlert, C. (in progress). Food Safety Standards and Farm Worker Welfare in Kenya. Unpublished MSc. Thesis, Faculty of Economics and Management, University of Hannover, Germany. Jaffee, S., and Henson, S. (2004). Standards and agro-food exports from developing countries: rebalancing the debate. Policy Research Working Paper 3348, The World Bank, Washington, D.C. Maertens, M., and Swinnen, J.F.M. (2006). Standards as barriers and catalysts for trade and poverty reduction. Paper presented at the IAAE 26 th Conference of

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International Association of Agricultural Economics Association, Gold Coast, Australia. Mausch, K. (2007). Do EurepGAP standards favour large-scale vegetable producers in Kenya? Unpublished MSc. Thesis, Faculty of Economics and Management, University of Hannover, Germany. McCulloch, N., and Ota, D.M. (2002). Export horticulture and poverty in Kenya. Working Paper 174, Institute of Development Studies, Brighton. Mithfer, D., Nangole, E. and Asfaw, S. (2006). Smallholder access to the export market: the case of vegetables in Kenya. Unpublished Working Paper, International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, Nairobi, Kenya. Muyanga, M. and Jayne, T.S. (2006). Agricultural extension in Kenya: Practice and policy lessons. Working Paper 26, Tegemeo Institute of Agricultural Policy and Development, Nairobi, Kenya. Appendix About ICIPE ICIPE (International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, Nairobi, Kenya) is an international research center that focuses on insect related problems and opportunities. In agricultural and horticultural production research activities mostly concentrate on pest control strategies with a major focus on integrated pest management and biological control strategies; this research is accompanied by development of training material and courses. Economic research concentrates on the economic impact of biological control strategies, the economic and health impact of pesticide use as well as of production standards, the scope for integrated pest management and biological control in attaining standards and good agricultural practices as well as the impact of training in these strategies.

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Annex 6: Session 5 Working Groups: Country Situational Analysis and Action Plans Country Situation Analysis Ghana There is a lot of awareness of GAP and food quality and safety at Export market sector, with the main focus being on EurepGAP Certification (both Option 1 and 2) being driven by the buyers (exporters). The main focus at the export market is for horticulture products focusing on pineapples and chillies with the main export market suppliers bing large farmers (60%) with the balance of supply being made up by small farmers. The EU is the destination of 80% of the exports, with the trend being towards provision of high-care and value-added produce, for example pre-cut pineapple. The export value of high care pineapple equals the total domestic market value. At domestic level, awareness of GAP and Food Quality and Safety is low, with the main focus being on food security (self-sufficiency) while food safety does not play a large role. The drivers for the adoption of GAP are largely the private sector. However the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), Ghana Standards Board, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the donor community provide services and assistance. Burundi and Rwanda Burundi has only one major exporter of cut flowers; with exports entirely concentrated on the Netherlands. Rwanda has 57 exporters of flowers and ornamentals; with exports mainly consisting of higher value ornamentals (> 1000). Rwanda has a Code of Good Practice developed; and the governmental Rwanda Horticultural Development Authority (RHODA) and private sector Rwanda Flower Producers and Exporters Association (ARPEF) are involved. Both Burundi and Rwanda identified technical and financial support needed for capacity building, mainly at farm and management level. Both countries felt that given the export dependence of the countries, a comprehensive GAP for current producers may not be justified. Any support should be linked with existing infrastructure and knowledge shared among growers. Learning from neighbouring countries e.g. partnering with Kenyan flower producers/ exporters was also suggested. Ethiopia Ethiopia does not have a very clear and comprehensive policy and strategic approach, however, the private sectors Ethiopian Horticultural Producers and Exporters Association (EHPEA) has developed a Code of Practice (CoP). This Code of Practice is export-market oriented, with a special focus on floriculture. The private sector is the driving force but has ensured the involvement of pertinent government institutions and other stakeholders. The Ethiopian participants identified the need for both technical and financial inputs for capacity building, to implement the ongoing EHPEA CoP and to develop a well worked-out and comprehensive GAP. Contacts should be developed with

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existing infrastructure and networks, with knowledge sharing among growers and links with higher education and research.

Kenya Kenya has had a large number of programmes and initiatives to increase food quality and safety awareness over recent years especially for the export market, including training from the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) and the HCDA on EU Regulations and EurepGAP and many activities supported by external parners on the topic (DFID, USAID GTZ, ColeACP-PIP, ICIPE JICA and others). To improve national quality Assurance systems, a KS 1758 National Horticulture Code of Practice was developed by the technical multi-stakeholder National Food Safety Committee under the aegis of KEBS but implementation has been weak. The export horticultural industry has grown steadily and successfully over the past years, due to a vibrant private sector industry alongside a government facilitation role. The private sector exporters association (FPEAK) have been successful in driving the revision of their FPEAK Code of Practice (which was developed in partnership with public and private stakeholders), to develop the KenyaGAP code, which is undergoing benchmarking to EurepGAP thanks to donor support. There has been huge donor interest and investment in the Kenyan Horticulture Industry, especially in supporting smallholder certification for export over the last decade. The focus on export markets has been on horticulture products including vegetables (French beans, runner beans, peas, Asian and mixed vegetables) fruit (avocados, mangoes, passion fruit) and flowers. The key emerging issues identified for Kenya are (1) issues related to consumer demand in the domestic market and (2) roles and responsibilities in implementing the GAP practices and the required interventions. Uganda Uganda has experienced increased attention on food quality and safety and GAP over recent years. In 2003 a National Taskforce on EurepGAP was initiated by the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF), with stakeholders nominated from the public and private sectors. A number of standards and guidelines have been developed by MAAIF and training activities initiated through export villages; however standard implementation and ownership of training has been limited. Following an UNCTAD study and an FAO-funded stakeholder consultation, a national workshop supported by FAO and involving all stakeholders was held in January 2007, reaching agreement that Uganda should move forward on its ongoing efforts to implement GAP, and deciding on initial elements of a strategy and the creation of a GAP Steering Committee, with the private sector platform Horticulture Promotion Organization of Uganda (HPOU) to take the lead in convening the Committee. Annual growth in horticulture exports has averaged 33% in the last 3 years. Over 80% of the horticulture products go to the EU (almost entirely through wholesale markets), with the rest sold on regional markets. Main products include matooke bananas, hot peppers, apple banana, green chillies, okra, pineapples and passion fruit.

65

Tanzania The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Cooperatives (MAFC) and the Ministry of Health (MoH) are currently developing food quality and safety policy for all products, with a Code of Practices for agriculture and processing being developed by the Tanzania Bureau of Standards. The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Marketing (MITM) is working to enhance market access, including a traceability programme for export products (tea, coffee, cashew nut, and fish) with DANIDA support. A request has also been made to FAO on a support programme for GAP sensitisation and development, but no response has yet been received. The driving actors are the Government10, the private sector11 and other private stakeholders12. GAP and food quality and safety programmes are focused on both the export and domestic market. The main products are horticulture products (vegetables like green beans, mangetout, snow peas, baby corn, baby carrots, and chilli), floriculture and non food products (cotton, tobacco, sugar). Zambia The Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ) has mandated the private sector to manage the GAP system. There is no national GAP programme, but there is an Industry GAP (ZEGA Code Of Practice, which was developed by the Zambian Exporters and Growers Association (ZEGA) through Horticultural Training Trust of Zambia (HTTZ). The implementation of this ZEGA GAP code is purely market driven with concentration and compliance only in the export market sector. The development programme was funded by donors and the industry. The implementation carried out by HTTZ, which both trains and does internal auditing. There are 19 exporters and growers of fresh fruit and vegetables and flowers operating in Zambia, with 80 small holder farmers who supply the export companies. They have a minimum of 2 hectares and a maximum of 7 hectares. The irrigation system for small holder farmers was funded by USAID. The product focus is exotic fruit, vegetables and flowers, both indoor and outdoor. The main markets for fruit and vegetables are supermarkets in the UK and other European and South African markets. Flowers are sold on the auction floor in the Netherlands. Zimbabwe Europe is the most important horticulture export destination market for Zimbabwe, accounting for 85% of flower, 70% of vegetable and 50% of citrus fruit exports. Growers were under increasing pressure to conform to EU and other regulations and in 1997 work began on a Code of Practice, to ensure growers would meet requirements of international markets, and its membership grew. After the land reforms of 2000, a number of members and prospective members
10

MAFC, MoH, MITM, Prime Minister Office for Regional Administration and Local Government (PORALG) 11 Tanzania Horticulture Association (TAHA), Tanzania Exporters Association (TANEXA), (Association of Mango growers (AMAGRO); MVIWATA (farmers growers association), Faida Mali (Commercial agriculture capacity building and linking farmers to markets) 12 Gomba Estate Ltd- Capacity building to farmer groups practicing GAP; Market Intermediary Management (MIM): smallholder capacity building; Serengeti Fresh: runs out-growers schemes for vegetables; Multiflowers Company: runs out-growers schemes for flowers.

66

left the scheme. However, with the structural changes in agriculture the importance of compliance to Good Agricultural Practices is increasingly realised as critical for exports to remain competitive on the EU market. Important issues highlighted by participants included the need for sensitisation to change attitudes, for implementation of GAP to give benefits to Zimbabwe as a whole, and the need for this to be a concerted effort of the public and private sector, and to include all classes of farmers, policy makers and implementers. The legislation must also be updated to be in line with EU regulation, and to change national regulations so that the government can give the support needed to the private sector to implement GAP.

67

Table 9. Country Action Plans

Country
Ghana

Need Identified
Communication advocacy (Mostly an export market bottleneck) Infrastructure (lab) (Mostly a export market bottleneck) Pesticide availability is limited/presence of banned pesticide. Farmers information is informal/smallscale. Driver/champion needed (Mostly a domestic market bottleneck) Hygiene of water Microbiological risk (Mostly a domestic market bottleneck)

Nature of Support/ Solutions

Extension of the taskforce by including policy research to provide facts and figures / studies for advocacy Increase political understanding of the needs and solutions Awareness of risks (both farmers through unions and extension services and consumers association) Capacity building Including: Sector specific studies13 including availability of inputs and services and impact and policy options and entry points Awareness raising Identify interventions / entry points Information provision

Lead Actor(s)
Technical support (financial support is available) by Taskforce and policy research Task force + policy research MoFA, Ministry of Health, EPA, Consumers association, Ministry of Labour, Unions

TimeFrame -

Funding Source -

Long & short term phased approach

Burundi
13

Mapping of needs and

MoFA, Ministry of water resources, Ministry of Health, EPA, Consumers associations Private sector

2007 &

Private sector

GTZ has carried out a value-chain study in Ghana which could be used as a possible starting point.

68

Rwanda

Ethiopia

capacity by major exporter Information provision and further guidance on implementation of EurepGAP standard Mapping of needs and capacity by ARPEF Further assistance for implementing the Code of Practice Exploring the need for a national GAP scheme (no local expertise available) Implementing the new EHPEA CoP

company Linking with existing infrastructure Minimum of technical assistance Partnering with Kenyan flower producers/exporters

2008 Government (mainly infrastructural support)

RHODA and ARPEF

Donors (provision of technical expertise)

Developing comprehensive GAP system

Kenya

1. Developing a national GAP strategy and plan of action

Technical and financial: - Training of employees at various levels of farm. - Establishing auditing bodies. - Creation of a central waste disposal system. - Promoting the code Technical and financial: - Conducting a study. - Holding national consultative meetings. - Design the overall GAP system Funding, training and equipment

EHPEA/growers

2007/2008

Private sector Government of Ethiopia (GoEth) Donor support

Private and government, other key stakeholders

Private sector -2008 -2008 GoEth Donor support Members of the taskforce and development partners.

-2009
National taskforce on horticulture and its constituent members. 3 to 18 months

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2. Developing a three tier national base code 3. Develop a national accreditation service actualize KENAS 4. Consolidation and dissemination of existing GAP information. 5. Development of the domestic markets and consumer awareness. 6. Development of a national hazards map and map out the different geographical areas in which crops are grown. 7. Develop a database for pesticide residues.

Funding, training and equipment Funding, training and equipment

National taskforce on horticulture and its constituent members. National taskforce on horticulture and its constituent members. National taskforce on horticulture and its constituent members. National taskforce on horticulture and its constituent members. National taskforce on horticulture and its constituent members.

3 to 18 months 3 to 18 months

Funding, training and equipment Funding, training and equipment Funding, training and equipment

3 to 18 months 3 to 18 months 3 to 18 months

Members of the taskforce and development partners. Members of the taskforce and development partners. (KEBS to take the lead) Members of the taskforce and development partners. Members of the taskforce and development partners. Members of the taskforce and development partners. Members of the taskforce and development partners. HPOU, PIP, FAO

Funding, training and equipment Commitment from agencies/departments responsible for the drafting and development of the policies

National taskforce on horticulture and its constituent members. HPOU/steering committee

3 to 18 months 3 months

Uganda

Examination of the current policies and laws in line with the GAP objectives: -Food and drug act -Plant protection and health bill -Seed act

70

Tanzani a

-Agricultural chemicals policy -The draft horticultural bill Creation of awareness among all stakeholders on GAP issues Capacity building of steering committee and other committee members to draw clear terms of reference and mission for the GAP development process National validation and initial roll out targeting beneficiaries/users Integrate GAP into national programme by lead ministries/institutions with involvement of the private sector Awareness creation of GAP to key players Institutional capacity building for food Q&S assurance (pesticide,

HPOU and MAAIF

4 months

MAAIF, development partners, HPOU Development partners

HPOU

4 months

Technical, material and financial support Technical

HPOU/development partners MAFC, Prime Minister Office for Regional Administration and Local Government (PORALG) MAFC, PORALG, Private sector TBS, TPRI TFDA

12 months

Development partners, MAAIF, HPOU Government /development partners

Two years14

Financial and technical

Three years

Equipment, staff training.

Two years

Government /development partners/private sector Development partners (FAO, DANIDA, UNIDO,

14

Tanzania time-frame estimates are based on an assumed 2008 start date.

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Zambia

mycotoxin, MRL analysis; food lab infrastructure, training, accreditation) Developing business and market linkages (business plans, market feasibility studies) Capacity building for farmers and extension agents on GAP issues Infrastructure development for water (inc irrigation schemes) Training of trainers Third Party Auditors to decrease audit costs

USAID, NORAD)

Training, market research and intelligence Credit facilities, training, infrastructure development Financial

Private sector, MITM, MAFC

On-going

UNCTAD, ITC, private sector

MAFC, MID, private sector Ministry of Water, MAFC HTTZ in collaboration with ZEGA & Zambian Agricultural Research Institute (ZARI).

Five years (on going) Three years

-Resources (funds) -Personnel (To train the trainers and 3rd party Auditors) Need Specifically: -10 trained & certified trainers -4 certified third party auditors for the larger Agriculture sector ( horticulture, tea, coffee, cotton) and across major commercial standards15

2 to 3 years

Government/priv ate sector/developm ent partners Government/priv ate sector/developm ent partners 30% from the private sector 70% from donors

15

EurepGAP, Organics, ETI, Utz Kapeh, Star bucks, SA 8000.

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Zimbabw e

Develop PublicPrivate Stakeholder Forum Sensitisation to Change Attitudes/ Crisis of ExpectationsFollowing land reform, there is limited understanding of what GAP is about and what is needed to export Update national understanding of market requirements

-Facilitate Process (PIP) -Funds Information dissemination to farmers, policy makers, implementers

HPC in collaboration with P & P sector stakeholders Task Force Members (public, private)

Initiate April 2007 From April 2007

PIP, Members, Others Members time and knowledge; re-habilitate/ reassign infrastructure already there

Need updated information (from outside Zimbabwe) among service providers on a continuous basis16

HPC, MoA (Crop Protection Organsiation); & others; pesticide distributors

Internal: Better co-ordination of existing service providers External: Materials from donors /buyers/NGOs/etc -

Update Legislation

Training of Trainers

Regulations amended to be in line with EU regs -Change national regulations to ensure government can give support needed by private sector to implement GAP Upgrade skills of national service

Need help from outside on

From April 2007

Donor needed (for smallholder

16

On EU regulations; supermarket codes; EU market requirements; Swiss requirements; regional requirements

73

providers

Training of Users of GAP

GAP training for farmers; exporters; government officers (especially inspectors; extension workers) Sharing experiences with other countries (e.g. Kenya, Uganda) Exchange visits Develop road-map of process

information, training skills Task Force to Coordinate National Agencies, led by MoA/HPC

element), Large exporters As soon as possible Funded by private sector/Gov/Donor

Update National Code of Practice

Zimbabwe Task Force: -Consultancy to initiate; -then implemented by local industry

From April 2007

Task Force Members; Donors (e.g. PIP)

Annex 7: Participant List No Name . 1 Hon. Kipruto Kirwa Dr. Wilson Songa 2 organization Country Nairobi, Kenya Nairobi Nairobi, Kenya Nairobi, Kenya Rome, Italy Rome, Italy Addis Abeba, Ethiopia Harare, Zimbabwe +39 06 570 56637 +39 06 570 55837 +251 0116636750 +263 4 481595
[email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

telephone

e-mail

3 4 5 6 7 8

Minister for Agriculture Agriculture Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture Dr. Chagema KederaManaging Director, Kenya Plant health Inspectorate Services (KEPHIS) Mr. Castro Paulino FAO Representative Camarada Anne-Sophie Poisot FAO Agriculture and Consumer Protection, Technical Services Unit Pilar Santacoloma FAO Agricultural Management, Marketing and Finance Sisay Habte Ethiopian Horticulture Producers and Exporters Association (EHPEA) Basilio Sandamu Horticulture Promotion Council (HPC)

+254 2716665

agriculturesecretary@kilimo. go.ke

+254 20 882933 [email protected]

74

Plant Protection Research Institute (PPRI) 10 Charles Tawazadza Fresh Produce Producers Association of Zimbabwe (FPPAZ) EurepGAP 11 Kerstin Uhlig

Cames Mguni

Harare, Zimbabwe
Chipangayi,Zimbabwe.

+ 263 4700339 [email protected] + 263 24281 +49 221 5799319 +2552864899

[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Cologne, Germany Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania Rome, Italy Berlin, Germany

12 Adah Mdesa

Mwasha 13 Paola Termine

14 Jenni Heise 15 Faustine Masaga 16 Sakayoya Eliakim 17 Ulrich Hoffmann 18 Florence Kata 19 Rachel Ntoyai 20 Umran Kaggwa 21 Karyeija Robert 22 Musa K. Muwanga 23 Aaron Sakala 24 Perry Ngoma 25 Morag Webb

Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Cooperatives (MAFC) FAO Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development Initiative GTZ (Consultant) Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) Ministry of Agriculture, Plant Protection UNCTAD

+390657054328 [email protected]
[email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] rg [email protected]

+49 174 4974017 Dar Es Salaam, +255 Tanzania 754394996 Bujumbura, Burundi +257 22402036 +257 79976214 Geneva, Switzerland + 47229075780

Uganda Export Promotion Board Kampala, Uganda (UEPB) Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Nairobi, Kenya Services (KEPHIS) Horticulture Promotion Organisation of Kampala, Uganda Uganda (HPOU) Ministry of Agriculture, Animal IndustryKampala, Uganda and Fisheries (MAAIF) National Organic Agriculture Kampala, Uganda Movement of Uganda (NOGAMU ) Zambia Agriculture Research Institute Lusaka, Zambia (ZARI) Zambia Export Grower's Association Lusaka, Zambia (ZEGA) COLEACP Pesticide Initiative United Kingdom Programme

+256 772459134 +254722859413 [email protected]

[email protected] ; +256 [email protected] 772402901 +256712985542 [email protected]

+256 772448948 +260 1278141 +260 283324 +32 25081091

[email protected] g [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

75

26 Kamau Kabbucho 27 Joseph Kigamwa 28 Johannes Kern 29 Grace Kyallo 30 Ir. Ndendabanga
Gabriel 31 Siobhan Casey

Fineline Secretary of Kenya National Task Force on Horticuylture / Kenya Plant health Inspectorate Services (KEPHIS) EurepGAP Horticulture Crops Development Authority (HCDA) Rwanda Flower Producers and Exporters Federation (ARPEF) FAO Agricultural Management, Marketing and Finance Standard & Solutions Consulting ICIPE Ministry of Health

Nairobi, Kenya Nairobi, Kenya Cologne, Germany Nairobi, Kenya Kigali, Rwanda Rome, Italy Nairobi, Kenya Nairobi, Kenya Nairobi, Kenya

[email protected] +254 20 3873165/6 +254 20 882933 [email protected]

+49 6226 60799 [email protected] +254 827281/2 [email protected]

[email protected]

+250 08302655 [email protected] +39 06 570 56685

[email protected] [email protected]

32 Amos Waweru 33 Dagmar Mithefer 34 Robert Kilonzo 35 Susan Minae 36 Sylvester Abuonji 37 Virginia Mwai 38 Tom Bonyo

FAO, Harare Agricultural Management, Harare, Zimbabwe Marketing and Finance CRD Nairobi, Kenya Ministry of Agriculture Ministry of Agriculture Nairobi, Kenya Nairobi, Kenya Nairobi, Kenya Nairobi, Kenya Nairobi, Kenya Nairobi, Kenya London, UK Nairobi, Kenya

+254208632000 [email protected] +254202717077 [email protected] Extn. 45204 +2634 791404 [email protected]

[email protected] +254 722 857046 [email protected] +254 733 279093 [email protected] +254 20 2716497 [email protected] +254 20 605573/74 +254 20 605573 [email protected] [email protected] +254 720 749214 [email protected] +254 722 919988 [email protected]

39 Immaculate Odwori Kenya Bureau of Standards 40 John Kabue 41 Kenneth Marangu 42 David Knopp 43 Tim Leyland 44 Stefan Ouma
Kenya Bureau of Standards USAID Kenya Business Development Service USAID Kenya Business Development Service DFID Ministry of Agriculture/ PSDA (Private

+254

[email protected]

76

45 Daphne Muchae 46 Ruth Nyagah 47 Kevin Billing 48 Angela Musila 49 Timothy Mwangi 50 Stephen Mbithi 51 Cosmas Kyengo 52 Margaret Orina 53 54 55 56 57 58

Sector Development in Agriculture) GTZ (KENFAP) AFRICERT DFID/BSMDP Everest Enterprises

735437835 Nairobi, Kenya Nairobi, Kenya Nairobi, Kenya Nairobi, Kenya

[email protected] +254 733 973831 [email protected] +254 722 250810 +254 7364621 [email protected] [email protected] +254 722 e 395636 [email protected] +254 721 761762 [email protected] +254 722 [email protected] 716956 [email protected] +25420 4451489 / 4450442 [email protected] +254 722 821968 +233 21 766176 [email protected]

USAID /Kenyan Horticulture Nairobi, Kenya Development Programme (KHDP) Fresh Produce Exporters Assocation of Nairobi, Kenya Kenya (FPEAK) Fresh Produce Exporters Assocation of Nairobi, Kenya Kenya (FPEAK)

PSDA (Private Sector Development in Nairobi, Kenya Agriculture) - GTZ Augustine Adongo Federation of Associations of Ghanaian Accra, Ghana Exporters (FAGE) Julius Mumo Maithya USAID/KHDP Nairobi, Kenya Martin Mulandi USAID/KHDP Nairobi, Kenya Steve New USAID/KHDP Nairobi, Kenya Daniel Kimani Kinango Nairobi, Kenya Kinuthia Judy Kaberia Capital FM Nairobi, Kenya Nairobi, Kenya Kampala, Uganda Nairobi, Kenya

59 Dr. Maggie Opondo University of Nairobi International Union of Food Workers 60 Omara Amuko Uchumi Supermarket 61 Peter Nderu 62 Phyllis Karanja
Royal Netherlands Embassy

+254 20 556807 [email protected] +254 20 556807 [email protected] +254 20 556807 [email protected] [email protected] +254 724 654153 [email protected] +254 722 235739 +254 2713039 [email protected]
[email protected]

+254 20 553630 +254 20

[email protected] m [email protected] [email protected]

Nairobi, Kenya

77

4450137

78

Annex 8: Workshop Programme REGIONAL WORKSHOP ON GOOD AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES: PRACTICES AND POLICIES. Kenya, 6-9 March 2007
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Evening of 5 March 2007: Registration of international participants ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DAY 1 Tuesday 6 March 2007

Introductions and Opening (9:00-11:30) 8:30 - 9:00 Registration 9:00 -9:30 Introduction of participants 9:30 10:00 Welcoming statements by Dr. Chagema Kedera, KEPHIS MD, M. Ulrich Hoffmann, UNCTAD and M. Castro Paulino Camarada, FAO Representative in Kenya 10:00- 10:15 Opening of the workshop by M. Kipruto Arap Kirwa, Minister for Agriculture, Kenya 10:15-10:30 10:30- 10:45 countries. Tea/Coffee break Key conceptual and policy issues on implementing GAP in developing UNCTAD/FAO

10:45-11:30 Brainstorming: What are the main issues and opportunities related to GAP? Which key elements should be considered in implementing GAP in East and Southern African countries? Session 1 Costs of compliance to GAP Certification programmes (11:30-13.00) 11.30-11.45 Institutional Strengthening and Investments needed to meet EurepGAP requirements for Fresh Fruit and Vegetables. Case Studies from South Africa, Kenya, Chile and Malaysia. P. Santacoloma, FAO 11.45-12.00 Underlying cost structure and options for reducing costs of compliance to EurepGAP: the case of Kenya. R. Nyagah, Africert 12.00-13.00 Facilitated panel: Costs of compliance, country level perspectives and initial solutions. Panellists: Ethiopia (EHPEA), Zambia (ZEGA), Uganda (UEPB) Tanzania (MAFC), Kenya (FPEAK). 13:00-14:00 Lunch

Session 2 Concrete actions to enhance smallholder competitiveness and support GAP implementation (14:15-17:45) 14:15-14:15 Experiences of the Kenyan Horticulture Development Programme (KHDP) in supporting small holder certification. Steve New, KHDP/USAID 14:20-14:35 Supporting smallholder certification and building an Internal Control System for Eurepgap Certification in the Horticultural Sector. Kevin Billing, BSMDP 14:40-14:55 Private Voluntary Standards- how can we make them more accessible to the smaller players? Morag Webb, ColeACP-PIP. 15:00-15:15 Presentation of the Kenyan Country Case, benchmarking of the KenyaGAP document with EurepGAP and discussion of progress to date, Cosmas Kyengo, FPEAK

79

15.20 16.00 16:00-16:30

Facilitated discussion. Tea/Coffee Break

16:30-17:30 Working groups: 3 or 4 working groups to discuss and identify specific actions to support smallholder in terms of Institutions, strategies, business development services and support from exporters and donors. 17:30-17:45 Summary of day 1 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DAY 2 Wednesday 7 March 2007

8:30-9:00 issues Plenary: report from Session 2 Working Groups and brainstorming on key

Field Assignments Groups will take technical excursions to farms, packing facilities, laboratories and/or export facilities, and will investigate issues for discussion in plenary. Time 9.00 9.00 10.30 9.00 12.30 12.30 13.00 13.00 14.00 14.00 15.00 15:00 Questions: What were the main challenges the farmers or group faced in the process of compliance? What are the benefits from GAP? What are the main issues regarding health and safety and working conditions? What struck you most in the pack house facility you visited? Participants can report their personal and professional impressions on the field day. Notes Travelling from Nairobi to the farm or the pack house takes one and a half hours. Travelling from the pack house (Kabati) to the farm (Ndura) takes 30 40 minutes. We will divide into two groups, one starts with the farm and the other starts with the pack house to save on waiting time (Two team leaders Timothy Mwangi and Appollo Owour). Crops in the farm include Beans, Broccoli, Avocado, baby corn. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Activity Departure from Nairobi Travel to Ndura farm Ndura farm Travel to Kabati farm pack house Packed lunch at Kabati farm Visit Kabati pack house Travel back to Nairobi

DAY 3 - Thursday 8 March 2007

8:30-9:45 Report and discussions of findings from field assignments

Session 3 GAP and Sustainable Agriculture for Rural Development (SARD): improving natural resource use at farm level, working conditions and workers health and safety (9:45-15:00) 9:45-10:00 How can GAP contribute to Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development? Environmental and social welfare issues. Paola Termine, FAO 10:00-10:15 Impact of GAP on working conditions and workers health and safety a study on Kenyan Horticulture, Maggie Opondo, University of Nairobi

80

10:20-10:35 production and 10:40-10:50 10:50-11:05

Economic impact of EurepGAP standard on small- to large-scale farm worker welfare in Kenya. Dagmar Mithoefer, ICIPE Recap of the issues and questions for clarifications Tea/Coffee break

What are possible approaches and solutions? 11:10-11:25 on lessons 11:30-11:45 Good Social Practices in Agriculture proposals for social criteria based from the GRASP project. Jenni Heise, GTZ Bridging the GAP with IPM. Louise Labuschagne, Real IPM

11:50 12.05 Facilitated discussion 12:10-13:00 Working groups: 3/ 4 working groups: How to improve environmental and social aspects of GAP in ways that are meaningful and realistic in developing countries? What are affordable and appropriate solutions based on small-farmers experience? 13.00-14.00 14:00-15:00 Lunch Plenary: Presentations from working groups and discussions

Session 4 Strategies for GAP implementation and relevance to domestic food safety and quality and to enhance market access (15:00-17:30) Implementation and impact of GAP standards in export and domestic markets 15:00-15:20 An exporters view: demand for GAP in export markets - which GAPs, which markets? Appollo Owuor, Kenya Horticulture Exporters (KHE) 15:20-15:40 A supermarkets view: what is the demand for GAP in the domestic market: procurement standards and feasibility of sourcing from smallholders. P. Nderu, Fresh Produce Manager, Uchumi 15:40-16:00 A governments view: feasibility of implementing GAP to improve domestic food safety- challenges and benefits from a government perspective. Tom Bonyo, Ministry of Agriculture, Horticulture Crops, Kenya 15:30-16:00 Facilitated discussion 16:00-16:30 Tea/Coffee break

Strategies for implementation of GAP at national level 16:30-16:50 Issues of importance identified in the development of national strategies for the implementation of GAP and lessons learned from global FAO GAP projects AS. Poisot, FAO 16:50-17:10 Experiences on developing national GAP programmes in Asia: a comparative perspective. Ulrich Hoffmann, UNCTAD 17:15-18:15 Mini workshops: Ask the resource person: MW1: Key issues to design inclusive national GAP strategies? MW2: What are GAP standards, accreditation & certification options, and what will an auditor check on your farm? MW3: How to implement food safety and traceability systems and Quality Management systems at farm and exporter level? MW4: How to organize outgrowers and farmer group schemes to help smallholders comply? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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DAY 4 - Friday 9 March 2007

Session 5 -Development of national country programme on GAP: Key conceptual and policy issues (8:30-13:00) Country cases 8:30-8:50 priorities in Federation of Ghana Country case: Reflecting national conditions and Development National Codes on Good Agricultural Practices. Augustine Adongo, Association of Ghanaian Exporters

8:50-9:10 Uganda Country case: Development of a strategy for implementation of a National GAP programme in Uganda. Musa Muwanga, National Organic Agriculture Movement of Uganda (NOGAMU) and Umram Kaggwa, Horticulture Promotion Organization of Uganda (HPOU) 9:10-9:30 GAP: Council of 9:30-10:00 Zimbabwe Case study: Upgrading HPCs code of Practice into Zimbabweobjectives and strategy. Basilio Sandamu, Horticultural Promotion Zimbabwe (HPC) Questions and facilitated discussion

10:00-10:15

Tea/Coffee break

10:15-12:00

Working groups: Country Situation Analysis and Action Plans In country-specific working groups, identify current country policies, institutions etc involved in GAP, food safety and quality and market access. Identify a number of concrete areas where national capacity building is needed to strengthen country CAP Activities, identify what nature of support would best address these needs and draw up a realistic action plan. 12:00-13:00 Plenary: Feedback of Working groups and Country level action plans

13:00-14:00

Lunch

14.00-14.30

Open discussion: On-going Regional activities

14.30-15.00 the country and possible

Facilitated panel of International agencies and EurepGAP: Feedback on action plans; Views of on possible coordination, activities of interest future areas of collaboration.

15:00-15:30 steps

Conclusions and Closing: Workshop wrap-up and identification of next

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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83