GAP at farm level – Needed for health?
GAP stands for Good Agricultural Practices.
There are four elements of GAP – economic viability, environmental sustainability, social acceptability, and food safety and quality.
GAP helps in improving usage of natural resources, workers’ health, and working conditions, creating new market opportunities for farmers and exporters in developing countries.
Food safety is a top priority for fruit and vegetable growers, and they should take it seriously. In recent years, foodborne illnesses and deaths have received a lot of attention. Here GAP plays a vital role. Using GAP helps in the production of good quality agricultural products that improve nutrition content by reducing the usage of excessive chemicals.
Implementation of GAP would promote optimum utilization of water resources such as pesticides, fertilizers, water and eco-friendly agriculture.
GAP also encourages the use of clean water and soil that is free of any potential microbe that may cause harm to the agricultural products grown.
Being acquainted with the type of pests, diseases and weeds that exist in the crop area helps the farmer to avoid losses and to produce good quality yield.
Food safety and consumer health is a top priority for fruit and vegetable growers, and they should take it seriously. In recent years, foodborne illnesses and deaths have received a lot of attention. Over 200 diseases are caused by eating food contaminated with bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemical substances such as heavy metals. 30% of foodborne deaths occur among children under 5 years of age.
WHO estimated that 33 million years of healthy lives are lost due to eating unsafe food globally each year, and this number is likely an underestimation.
Consumer distrust as a result of these contamination incidents has had major consequences for the industry. Following an outbreak, the price of the affected crop almost always lowers, resulting in severe economic losses. Growers can use Good Agricultural Practices to regain and keep consumer trust while also preventing contamination.