„Africa-Observer Project“

Dr. Johannes Kern

Meckesheim – Germany

www.africa-observer.info

How to make developing countries' voices heard in the

private standards' arena?

How to make developing countries' voices heard

in the private standards' arena?

1. Smallholder/Stakeholder involvement

a) Overview

b) National Technical Working Groups

2. Activities

a) Smallholder task force

b) Call for proposals and return

c) Workshop

3. Lessons learned and way forward

1.a) Smallholder/Stakeholder Involvement

NATIONAL TECHNICAL WORKING GROUPS AFRICA OBSERVER +

SMALLHOLDER TASK FORCE

SMALLHOLDER/STAKEHOLDER VOICES

1.a) Smallholder/Stakeholder Involvement

Open Standard Setting Procedure* and stakeholder

involvement during the standard revision

• public consultation phase (single proposals and

round table discussions)

• members peer review

* see: www.globalgap.org

NTWG‘s Czech RepublicSept. 2006

SpainMay 2002

FranceJune 2002

ItalyJuly 2002

BelgiumFeb 2002

NetherlandsJan 2002

MalaysiaFeb 2003

Argentina Mar 2004

GreeceSep 2004

BrazilJune 2004

GermanyMay 2005

ColombiaDec 2006

PolandDec. 2006

TurkeyApril 2005

DenmarkJune 2007

ThailandSep 2007

BulgariaJuly 2006

UruguayMay 2008

IndiaMay 2008

UkraineSept. 2006

Chile Jun 2008

1.b) National Technical Working Groups (NTWG)1. Actual status• In 21 countries; several approved National Interpretation Guidelines • Pro-active strategy of GLOBALGAP (countries with > 300 certificates)

2. How to start a NTWG’s?• On initiative of members (GLOBALGAP) from single countries• All organisations can become a member (Producers, retailers, exporters, CBs,

government, NGOs etc.)• Smallholder experts should be invited and represented

3. What are the NTWG’s major task?- Define local agenda and priorities- Develop Interpretation Guidelines- Close cooperation with FoodPLUS and Sector Committees- Improve transparency and integrity of GLOBALGAP in the country- Facilitate implementation of GLOBALGAP in the country by adapting the global criteria to

local situation- Get connected to the other NTWGs

2.a) The Smallholder Task Force

Ruth NYAGA Africert/GTZ KenyaKevin MAART DFPT* South AfricaKofi BINEY GTZ Ghana Babacar SAMB Bioscope/NL SenegalAndrew GRAFFHAM NRI/IIED UKSteve HOMER Biospartners UK

Interfaces to SC**: Richard Yudin, Andreas Kreuzmair (Edeka)

Moderation: Elme Coetzer, Johannes Kern Back Office (BO): Bianca Untied (GTZ), Kerstin Uhlig

*DFPT (Deciduous Fruit Producer’s Trust) ** SC (GLOBALGAP Sector Committee)

2.b) Call for proposals (I)

Targets• carry out public call for innovative

proposals to improve GLOBALGAP standard for smallholders

• gather feedback on best practices from projects around the globe

• prepare high score proposals for Sector Committee

2.b) Call for proposals (II)Methodology• Proposal sheets were divided into three parts:

- Related topic (General Regulations or CPCC)- Justification- Impact assessment

• Independent evaluation by the “Smallholder Task Force”• Discussion on proposals during the Workshop

“GLOBALGAP Group Certification”: A challenge for smallholders in Europe and developing countries”

• 64 proposals from various stakeholder groups (Experts, CB‘s, NGO‘s etc.) throughout the world

General Regulations• Internal auditors and farmers ratio; quantity of

inspections; relationship between internal and external audits

• Farmer group vs. individual farmer as certificate holder

• Option 1 for smallholder groups• Registration and certification fees

2.b) Return – key issues (I)

CPCC (Control Points and Compliance Criteria)

Examples: • Capacity development on food safety issues• Number of CPCC• Practicability of some CPCC

2.b) Return – key issues (II)

QMS• Harmonisation (mutual recognition) of

producer QMS/ICS across various standards• Capacity development concerning QMS• Functioning of sanctioning system

2.b) Return – key issues (III)

2.c) The Workshop• Organised by GTZ together with GLOBALGAP,

Marktkontor Baden and the Observer Project• 52 Participants from 16 countries• Presentations from Belgium, South Tirol, Turkey,

Kenya, Ghana and Senegal• Report under: www.africa-observer.info

2.c) The Workshop

Work group 1: The revision of GLOBALGAP Control Points to reflect the needs of smallholders

Work group 2: The revision of General Regulations to reflect the needs of smallholders

Work group 3: The participation of producer associations in the standard-setting process, e.g. in

National Technical Working Groups

Work group 4: QMS and the question of how producer associations can be supported during

the implementation

3. Lessons learned and way forward

• Expert(s) from retailers in task force

• Selection of themes from call for future task force work

• Second call for proposals, more transparent, more languages

• Linking up with UNCTAD project on smallholder communication

Thank you for your attention!www.africa-observer.info