GLOBALG.A.P. IFA Plants

Improve the quality of your plant products and consistently meet customer expectations of food safety and sustainability.

The Integrated Farm Assurance - Plant standard provides specific requirements for a farm management system that will enhance your ability to consistently deliver products that meet customer, statutory, and regulatory demands. Certification to GLOBALG.A.P. IFA Plants demonstrates your commitment to good farming practices, including the production and marketing of safe food while protecting scarce resources. It implies continual improvement to meet customer requirements and build a sustainable performance.

What is GLOBALG.A.P. IFA – Plants

GLOBALG.A.P. is the globally recognized pre-farm gate standard for ensuring the quality and safety of a final product. GLOBALG.A.P. IFA standard is built on a system of modules that enables producers to get certified for several sub-scopes in one audit. It consists of:

• General regulations which set the criteria for successful Principle and Criteria (P&C) implementation as well as guidelines for the verification and the regulation of the standard. These Principles and Criteria define the requirements for achieving the quality standard required by GLOBALG.A.P.
• The IFA Plants scope encompasses a wide array of products and various production systems within the following categories:
  • Fruit and vegetables
  • Flowers and ornamentals
  • Combinable crops
  • Tea
  • Hops
  • Plant propagation material
• This standard establishes precise criteria for responsible farming practices throughout the primary production process, spanning from pre-harvest activities to post-harvest handling.
• Producers have the flexibility to obtain certification for multiple product categories within the IFA Plants scope through a single certificate. Additionally, certification options cater to farms of all sizes and types, including smallholders.
• It promotes measures for any plant producer that ensure food and farm worker safety and welfare, traceability of products and production records, environmental awareness, minimization of agrochemical inputs (fertilizers, pest and weed control), Integrated Crop Management (ICM), efficient resources (soil and water) utilization and compliance with local and international regulations.

Editions and GFSI recognition

IFA version 6 was released in September 2022. This was followed by the updated GLOBALG.A.P. IFA v.6.0 GFS August 2024 where both the aquaculture, and fruit and vegetables scopes are recognized by GFSI (Global Food Safety Initiative).

IFA version 6 offers a simplified structure and language and extended criteria on sustainability, animal-welfare and continuous improvement at the producer level. IFA Plants (which includes fruit and vegetables) is currently offered in two parallel and equally valid versions:

• IFA Smart
• IFA GFS (GFSI benchmarked)

The split allows for Smart to have simplified checklists, be outcome oriented and customized. GFS has simplified checklists where allowed while being recognized by GFSI.

Benefits of becoming certified

Certification to GLOBALG.A.P. IFA – Plants by an independent third-party verifies the effectiveness of the good agriculture practices and the farming system implemented as well as sustainability of farming activities. As a result:

• Implement a structured approach to continually improving processes and knowing where to focus efforts. This can improve product quality and reduce costs.
• Enhance customer confidence and satisfaction, which in turn can lead to better and easier access to the market.
• Gain a significant competitive advantage by meeting any farming system certification business requirements from customers, suppliers and sub-contractors in order to conduct business with them.

Getting started

To be certified, you first need to implement the required modules into a system complying with the standard’s requirements. DNV is an accredited third-party certification body and can help you throughout the journey starting from relevant training to self-assessments, gap analysis and certification services.