Agroquality.al, a new platform for obtaining GlobalG.A.P. standard
The GlobalG.A.P is a challenging standard for farmers, agri collectors and exporters, but being aware of the high interest for this standard, the Swiss-funded project RisiAlbania partnered with Albinspekt to build Agroquality platform.
The platform is an innovative tool which provides free information about GlobalG.A.P and implementation of the standard for individual and group certification in Albanian language for consultants, farmers, agriculture cooperative, exporters who cooperates with their farmers. More certifications such as organic will be added in the coming months.
“Agroquality platform offers a set of guidelines for implementing GlobalG.A.P. and other standards, as well as informs market players about the latest standard developments” – says Irjana Gjana, Albinspekt administrator. “There is a growing interest among farmers, exporters and certification bodies in GlobalG.A.P. standard and through the platform everyone interested can find information on the application procedures, requirements and application forms”, explains Gjana.
RisiAlbania introduced GlobalG.A.P Group certification for the first time in Albania. In 2018 we started a partnership with Albinspekt for the development of Agroquality, and with two agri-exporters (Tomato.AL and Doni Fruits) to pilot the feasibility of group certification. They are both accessing high value Western European markets, selling at better profit margins and trickling down the benefits to their supplying farmers. From their side, farmers respect agricultural protocols, while Albanian consumers have access to safe products. As the agribusiness sector becomes more competitive, more employment opportunities are created.
GLOBALG.A.P is an international standard that aims to guarantee maximum safety of the food offered by supermarkets by stimulating Good Agricultural Practices (G.A.P). GLOBALG.A.P applies to the entire primary production.