The country’s produce farmers, certified by the Namibian Agronomic Board (NAB), have earned the local Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) certificate.
The certification assures quality throughout agricultural supply chains, boosting the credibility and market presence of local farmers’ produce on both domestic and international markets.
“All the farmers that are going to be recognised have met 100% major compliance criteria and 95% minor compliance criteria on the Primary Farm Assurance (PFA) standard requirements for food safety and hygiene. It helps producers gain gradual recognition by providing an entry level to Global GAPCertification,” Lorna Shikongo-Kuvare, the NAB’s General Manager for Regulatory Services, said.
This comes after Global GAP introduced the Local GAP standard as a capacity building initiative aimed at assisting farmers who are unable to immediately comply with the Integrated Farm Assurance standard.
“The local gap standard was introduced by Global GAP as a capacity building initiative for farmers that are not able to go straight into your integrated farm assurance standards,” Shikongo-Kuvare said.
The certification was granted to six small-scale and commercial farmers whose farms met the compliance criteria for the local GAP standard of the PFA requirements.
According to Shikongo-Kuvare, this certificate remains valid for a period of one year.
“Wusten Micro Farming, Metropolis Investments, Orange River Irrigation Projects, Oribi Asset No. 1, and Agricon Mushrooms have been awarded local GAP certification,” Shikongo-Kuvare said.
Furthermore, recipients of the certification highlighted their operations and capacity.
“Our farm is one of the full lettuce washing facilities, with a 5,000-tonne lettuce harvest per week. Prioritising sustainability through aquaponics, which uses 90% less water to produce lettuce,” a Farm Manager at Oribi Asset No. 1 said.
The Manager highlighted that their team comprises 14 permanent employees, exclusive of himself. They serve retail clients such as Spar under Freshmark, Checkers, Shoprite, and Food Lover’s Market.
“Metropolis Investments operates four greenhouses with a weekly harvest capacity of one thousand tonnes of tomatoes and cucumbers. They supply Maerua SuperSpar, Hochland Spar and a few smaller retailers,” an Administrator at Metropolis Investment noted.
