Food safety has gained increasing importance over the years because of its significance both from
health and trade perspectives. The production of safe food is essential for protecting consumers from
the hazards of foodborne illnesses and is important both in the domestic food business as well as for
increasing competitiveness in export markets. Hazards may occur at different stages of the food
chain starting right from the primary production, e.g. residues above permitted levels, microbial
contaminants and heavy metals. It therefore becomes important to address food safety right from
food production at farm level. Implementing Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) during on-farm
production and post-production processes resulting in safe agricultural products is of immense
importance for ensuring a safe food supply
GAP, as defined by FAO, are a “collection of principles to apply for on-farm production and postproduction processes, resulting in safe and healthy food and non-food agricultural products, while
taking into account economic, social and environmental sustainability.”
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Many importing countries as well as domestic buyers, especially organized retailers, are requiring
producers to implement GAP as a prerequisite for procurement to ensure the quality and safety of
their produce. In addition, implementing GAP also helps promote sustainable agriculture and
contributes to meeting national and international environmental and social developmental objectives.
It has been documented that implementation of GAP encourages promotion of the optimum use of
resources such as pesticides, fertilizers, and water, and eco-friendly agriculture. Its social dimension
would be to protect the agricultural workers’ health from improper use of chemicals and pesticides.