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WHEREAS, the Philippines, as a member of the ASEAN, is committed to the implementation of the Strategic Plan of Action on ASEAN Cooperation on Good Agricultural Practices (SPA ASEAN GAP) 2009-2012 which compels the ASEAN Member States (AMSs) to align their national Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) program (standard, certification procedures, training of inspectors, etc.) with the adopted regional standard on GAP;

WHEREAS, over the years, the national GAP Program, or the Philippine GAP (PhilGAP) Program, has been gaining significant impact on market access as trading partners are increasingly requiring GAP certification for commodities entering their borders;

WHEREAS, previous guidelines on GAP certification as contained in Department of Agriculture (DA) Administrative Order No. 30, series of 2012, cover only fresh fruits and vegetables;

WHEREAS, there is a need to widen the coverage of GAP certification to include all agricultural crops and facilitate compliance with the GAP requirements of our trading partners;

NOW THEREFORE, I, PROCESO J. ALCALA, Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, in accordance with the powers vested in me by law, do hereby issue this Administrative Circular to expand the scope and coverage of the National GAP Program to include all agricultural crops and to provide guidelines for granting, maintaining, and withdrawing GAP Certificate, including procedures for farm inspection for the purpose of certification.

SECTION 1. OBJECTIVES OF GAP CERTIFICATION

• Facilitate adoption of GAP aimed at ensuring food safety and assuring produce quality while keeping high regard for environmental protection and that of workers health, safety and welfare;
• Produce quality and safe agricultural crops for consumers; and
• Facilitate access of Philippine agricultural crops to neighbouring ASEAN markets and other foreign markets.

SECTION 2. SCOPE AND COVERAGE

This Circular establishes the rules and procedures to be observed by the Department of Agriculture in granting, maintaining, and withdrawing GAP Certificate to any of the following types of entities engaged in the production of agricultural crops: (a) individuals; (b) partnership/joint ventures; (c) cooperatives; (d) corporations; and (e) associations/organizations. Demonstration farms of government, academic and research institutions are also eligible to apply for GAP certification.

Agricultural crops include cultivated plants of which products are harvested at some point in their growth stage intended for human consumption.

This Circular also establishes the composition and tasks of the GAP Certification Committee, the Technical Working Group, GAP Inspectors, and Secretariat.

SECTION 3. GAP CERTIFICATION BODIES

A. GAP Certification Committee

A.1 Composition

The GAP Certification Committee (GAPCC) shall be composed of representatives from concerned agencies of the DA. There shall be designated permanent members of the GAPCC who will endorse to the Secretary all eligible applications. Other concerned agencies and commodity-based units under the DA may be called when deemed necessary.

Chairperson	Director, Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Product Standards (BAFPS)
Vice-Chairperson	Director, Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI)
Permanent Members	Executive Director, Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (FPA) Director, Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM) Executive Director, Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech) Director, Agricultural Training Institute (ATI)
Commodity-Based Members	National Program Coordinator, High Value Commercial Crops (for fruits and vegetable applications) National Program Coordinator, Corn Program (for corn and cassava applications) National Program Coordinator, Rice Program (for rice grain applications) Administrator, National Food Authority (NFA) (for grain applications) Administrator, Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) (for coconut applications) Administrator, Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) (for sugar applications) Executive Director, Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice)
Other Members	Director, Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) Director, Agriculture and Fisheries Information Service (AFIS) Director, Agriculture and Marketing Assistance Service (AMAS)
Secretariat	Technical Staff, BAFPS

A.2 Tasks

In general, the GAPCC is tasked to:

• Undertake final evaluation of and make appropriate recommendations regarding GAP applications;
• Endorse to the DA Secretary the list of applicants that have been found to be compliant with the appropriate provisions of applicable Philippine National Standards (PNS);
• Hear appeals, if any, and endorse to the Secretary the appropriate action in response to the appeals;
• If and when necessary, review and investigate complaints about abuses in the production and sale of products that do not adhere to GAP standard, including the use of GAP mark, and make the necessary recommendations on withdrawing GAP certifications; and
• Recommend to the Secretary the list of qualified inspectors, as applicable and as identified and endorsed by the Directors of the various agencies or the DA Regional Field Units (RFUs).

Aside from the general tasks related to certification, the GAPCC shall also have the following tasks related to direction-setting and policy formulation:

• Set directions for the Philippine GAP (PhilGAP) Program, including policy formulation, strategies on capacity building, strengthening market linkage and information dissemination on the PhilGAP;
• Undertake annual review of the program, set priorities and endorse the proposed plan to the Secretary for approval;
• Undertake annual review of the Guidelines, its inspection procedures and training programs and propose changes, as necessary;
• Recommend to the Secretary the list of qualified technical personnel of the Department and Local Government Units (LGUs) who would be subsequently trained to extend assistance to farmers prior to their application for certification; and
• Participate in ASEAN and other international discussions to ensure alignment of PhilGAP with existing international GAP programs.

B. Technical Working Group (TWG)

The Technical Working Group (TWG) shall serve as the technical support group for the implementation of the PhilGAP program as set by the GAPCC. It shall be composed of experts from relevant DA agencies and National Programs, the academe, and NGOs who participated in the drafting of the standard for specific commodity/ies.

If and when deemed necessary, members of the TWG who drafted the standard or representatives from National Programs may be tapped as resource persons during the conduct of inspection in order to provide clarifications on the specific provisions of the subject standard as they relate to the GAP certification.

The TWG members who joined the team of inspectors will also be tapped during the conduct of review, evaluation, and validation of submitted inspection report(s) prior to its endorsement to the GAPCC.

C. GAP Inspectors

The GAP inspectors of the program shall be composed of relevant professionals and identified technical personnel designated by the Secretary upon recommendation by the Directors of BPI, BSWM, FPA or by the DA Regional Executive Directors (REDs).

When necessary and appropriate, inspectors from commodity-based DA programs may also be requested and designated.

The GAP inspectors shall be trained on the provisions of the related Philippine National Standards (PNS) and re-tooled on the aspects of inspection. They shall also be responsible for the monitoring of GAP-certified farms at least once or as deemed necessary during the period of validity of the certificate.

D. Secretariat

The Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Product Standards (BAFPS) shall act as Secretariat of the GAPCC. The GAPCC Chairperson may authorize the Secretariat to issue official communications regarding an application, except those that pertain to a decision. This may include notices or calls for a meeting, requests for submission of documents from an applicant, and other duties that may be assigned by the GAPCC from time to time.

The Secretariat may also accompany the inspectors during the conduct of inspection/s. In case of unavailability of inspectors to conduct follow-up inspections to verify compliance of the applicant to the list of non-compliant item/s, the Secretariat, accompanied by appropriate members of pool of experts may be assigned to conduct the validation visit using the checklist mentioned in Section 4B of this Circular as guide. A report of such visit(s) will be submitted to the GAP inspectors for their evaluation.

SECTION 4. PROCEDURES FOR CERTIFICATION

A. Filing of Application

The following may apply for GAP certification:

• Individuals;
• Partnership/joint ventures;
• Cooperatives;
• Corporations;
• Associations/organizations; and
• Demonstration farms of government, academic and/or research institutions;

In the initial application, the following requirements shall be submitted:

• Duly accomplished application form;
• Farm and/or organizational profile, as applicable;
• Farm map or area map (where the outgrowership takes place);
• Field operation procedures including the list of fertilizers, pesticides and other agro-chemical inputs used;
• Certificate of training on GAP;
• Certificate of Registration (if applicable) and other related permits
• Procedure for accreditation of farmers/growers (if applicable);
• Procedure for outgrowership scheme which will show that the company/PMOs/ cooperative have 100% control of all registered or accredited growers (e.g. internal policies on accreditation of farmer/grower, sanctions, etc.) (if applicable)

Applicants from the various regions may submit their duly accomplished form to the Office of the DA Regional Executive Director (RED), which together with the documents listed above, will be endorsed to the GAPCC for proper action.

After the GAP inspectors have evaluated the application as to completeness of documentary requirements, the GAPCC Secretariat will notify the applicant of the schedule of farm audit/inspection within (10) working days upon receipt of the application.

B. Audit/Inspection

Farms will be inspected using the checklist developed based on adopted relevant standard(s) which spells out the minimum requirements for GAP certification. The same checklist will be used for farms producing crops intended for domestic and export markets. For farms engaged in export, additional requirements imposed by the importing country will apply but, will not in any case, influence the issuance of the GAP certification.

Assessment of the farm will be based on the minimum requirements set in the four (4) modules of the standard, namely: food safety; quality; workers' health, safety and welfare; and environmental management.

A team of multi-disciplinary inspectors shall conduct the inspection based on the guidelines or checklist developed. If applicable, samples (water, soil, plant tissue, etc) will be taken for analyses based on appropriate sampling techniques. The producer will not charge the GAP program for the sample(s) taken. The payment of cost of analyses is guided by Section on Fees (Section 4E) of this Circular.

Within five (5) days after the conduct of all necessary inspections (including inspection of non-compliant items), the inspectors will submit the report(s) to the appropriate Technical Working Group (TWG) which will review, evaluate and validate submitted report(s) prior to its endorsement to the GAPCC.

The GAPCC shall approve, deny, or place an application on a ‘pending’ status with the view of making a decision later after all the non-compliant items have been complied with. If placed on a pending or denied status, the Chairperson will have fifteen (15) days to notify the applicant.

The applicant will receive an official communication regarding the results of inspection, together with a copy of analyses.

C. Issuance of GAP Certificate

The awarding of GAP certificate is based on the applicant’s compliance on the minimum requirements set in the relevant Philippine National Standard (PNS) Code of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) for the subject commodity.

The compliance criteria also include documentation of farm management to help trace the history of the farm produce. The farm records must be kept for two (2) years. New farms applying for certification must have at least three (3) months of farm records.

When an application has been given an ‘approved’ status after taking into consideration the recommendations of the appropriate TWG and team of inspectors who conducted the inspection, the GAPCC shall prepare and forward the endorsement to the Office of the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture for approval. The GAP certificate should be issued within thirty (30) days upon the receipt of the recommendations from the inspectors.

After the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture has granted approval, the GAPCC shall issue GAP certificate to the applicant with corresponding GAP Certificate Number. The GAP certificate shall bear the following information: name of the farm and/or entity (where applicable), farm identification number, address of the farm, scope of certification (name of produce), and validity of the certificate.

The GAP certification award entitles the applicant to use the official mark ‘GAP Certified’ in accordance with the provision set out herein.

When an application has been given a ‘denied’ status, the applicant may raise an appeal guided by Section on Appeal Procedure (Section 7a) of this Circular.

D. Monitoring of GAP-Certified Farms

Once a farm has been granted a GAP certificate, it shall be subject to monitoring inspection at least once or as deemed necessary during the validity of the certificate. Samples may be taken for microbial, pesticide or heavy metal analyses, as appropriate.

E. Payment of Fees

Application for GAP certification shall be free of charge. Administrative expenses to be incurred by the Committee, GAP inspectors and/or TWG members during the evaluation, inspection and audit, monitoring inspection and renewal will be shouldered by the BAFPS.

The cost of analyses for the first sampling of water, soil, plant tissue, etc. shall be free and will be borne by BAFPS. However, in case subsequent samplings are deemed necessary, the costs of analyses shall be borne by the applicant.

F. Validity and Renewal of GAP Certificate

Eligible applicants will be granted with a certificate valid for one (1) year from the date of issuance.

For entities applying for renewal of certificate, the following documents shall accompany the accomplished application form:

• Updated farm map (showing new areas/expansion of areas), if applicable;
• Updated list of fertilizers and pesticides used;
• Revised manual of operation, if applicable; and
• Copy of results of post-certification monitoring inspection (inspection report and certificate of analyses).

GAP certified farms shall renew their GAP certificate by submitting a new application form one (1) year after it has been issued or after each growing cycle, in the case of perennial crops.

Application for renewal shall be done three (3) months prior to the expiry date of the certificate.

Re-certification requires the re-audit of farm(s) based on the GAP guidelines and will be conducted one (1) month prior to the expiry of the existing certificate.

Audit for the purpose of re-certification shall be conducted preferably during the harvesting season so as to cover as many points in the checklist as possible. In situations where there is no crop or produce present at the time when the inspection is due, and providing that the farmer has already signified his intention for re-certification at the end of the period of validity of the previous certificate, the Department may opt to extend the validity of the previous certificate by up to 3 months. This is to give ample time when the farm may be inspected with presence of standing crop or harvestable produce. An extension can only be granted if the farmer applicant has re-registered before the expiry date.

SECTION 5. USE OF GAP CERTIFICATION MARK

The ‘GAP Certified’ mark is an official mark with prescribed specifications to be put on the produce or package produced by certified farms or entity.

Certified farms are allowed to use the mark as part of their advertisement. The mark may be used on letterheads of the entity managing the certified farms and in advertisement materials such as brochures and packaging bags for promotion of the farm and its produce. The mark must adhere to the prescribed specifications.

All materials containing the ‘GAP Certified’ mark shall be submitted to the GAPCC for approval on their use and release to the public.

It is an offense for any farm or company to use the mark to advertise crop produce not harvested from the certified farm. The misuse of GAP certification mark leading to mislabelling of produce shall be subject to the relevant provisions of the Consumer Act of the Philippines (Republic Act 7394 of 1991).

SECTION 6. REVOCATION OF GAP CERTIFICATE

Non-compliance with the Philippine National Standard (PNS) Code of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) or failure to comply with any part of the guidelines as shown by the monitoring inspection shall result in the revocation of the GAP Certificate, including the privilege of using the GAP Certified mark.

SECTION 7. APPEAL PROCEDURE

The appeal procedures shall apply in the following situations:

a)	Denial of Issuance of GAP Certificate

When an application has been given a ‘denied’ status and after taking into consideration the recommendations of the appropriate TWG and team of inspectors who conducted the inspection, the applicant may appeal for reconsideration by sending a formal communication to the GAPCC signifying either the strategies to address the areas of concern or actions done to correct the situation. Depending on the acceptability of the remedial actions as determined by the appropriate TWG, an inspection/audit team will be sent to reassess their compliance. The TWG will review and evaluate the inspectors’ report and recommend proper action to the GAPCC.

b)	Revocation of GAP Certificate

An appeal maybe made through a formal letter addressed to the GAPCC Chairperson requesting reinstatement of certification stating the remedial actions undertaken to correct violations/problems. The farm may be reconsidered for recertification once the corrective or remedial actions to show compliance with the GAP guidelines have been satisfactorily put in place by the applicant.

SECTION 8. CONFIDENTIALITY

All personnel involved in the GAP certification program must adhere to the principles of confidentiality.

Information on production practices, ingredients, customer list, complaint log, etc., submitted by applicants for approval shall not be released to any party or to the public in general without written permission from the applicant.

However, the following general information may be released:

• Name, address and telephone number of the applicant;
• Date of approval;
• Any information to comply with a court order; and
• Any information to comply with a request from the GAPCC investigating an alleged complaint.

SECTION 9. CONFLICT OF INTEREST

Conflict of interest is defined as having an economic interest with the applicant under review for approval one year prior to, during or one year after work or employment was concluded. All personnel involved in GAP certification with a conflict of interest must make the conflict known and not participate in discussions or decisions regarding the applicant under review.

SECTION 10. ADDITIONAL REGULATIONS

Other regulations may be introduced and notified when they become necessary to ensure production of safe and quality crop produce in certified farms.

SECTION 11. EFFECTIVITY

This Circular shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its filing with the UP Law Center.

So ordered.

(SGD) PROCESO J. ALCALA
Secretary