A group of GlobalG.A.P. certified pangasius farmers. (Photo Credit: GlobalG.A.P.)

First small-scale pangasius farmers achieve GlobalG.A.P. certificate

Global G.A.P. has announced the first aquaculture group certification for small-scale pangasius farmers in Vietnam. Part of the Public Private Partnership – Sustainable Pangasius Supply Chain Program (PPP-SPSP) in Tra Vinh province, the producer group Tra Vinh Cooperative is expecting strong growth in the coming years.

At the GlobalG.A.P. workshop that took place at Vietfish on 6 August, Truong The Van, the Vice Chairman of the Tra Vinh Fisheries Association, shared the challenges and benefits for small-scale producers of GlobalG.A.P. Certification in general, and GlobalG.A.P. Group Certification in particular. He specifically highlighted the cooperation promotion between farms. He also outlined how raising producer awareness of Good Aquaculture Practices and environmental protection benefits the aquaculture sector as a whole and consumers worldwide.

An added advantage of this certification for small-scale producers in Vietnam in particular is that they immediately comply with the national government’s decree requiring all pangasius farming activities to be certified against sustainable certification systems by 31 December 2015.

This is a milestone in GlobalG.A.P. Aquaculture Group Certification and a major step forward in the aquaculture sector. Small-scale aquaculture producers organized in groups with a shared Quality Management System can now reap the benefits of a long established and successful form of the certification.

“I congratulate the Tra Vinh Cooperative for pioneering GlobalG.A.P. Aquaculture Group Certification in Vietnam and around the world,” said Kristian Moeller, GlobalG.A.P. CEO.

And he added: “Almost 100,000 fruit & vegetable farmers, that’s more than 70 percent of our GlobalG.A.P. certified producers worldwide, are organized in groups and covered under GlobalG.A.P. Group Certification. The first group small-scale farmer certificate in aquaculture confirms that achieving our high integrity requirements for food safety and sustainability systems on farm via a group generates benefits to small-scale producers that can also be enjoyed by the aquaculture sector."

"The European retail markets have a particular interest in connecting to smaller producers to secure their sourcing. I am pleased to announce that the majority of our German retailers are introducing and implementing policies that require GlobalG.A.P. Aquaculture Certification as a food safety baseline for their entire aquaculture range,” he concluded.

Actively integrating small-scale farmers in local and international supply chains also aligns with GlobalG.A.P.’s commitment to helping reduce poverty and ensure food security through Good Agriculture and Aquaculture Practices. 

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