The biannual summit, which took place in Amsterdam on 27-28 September, looked back on what has been achieved so far and focused on the challenges ahead, due to the digital transformation of the agribusiness and food sector and the need for more transparency for consumers and governments.

Adoption of Greenfence platform technology

GlobalGAP announced the introduction of the novel platform technology, with Greenfence representatives explaining how their platform adds efficiencies and value for farmers, improves transparency and data access for buyers throughout the food supply chain, and benefits certification bodies during GlobalGAP audits.

Supporting Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations

GlobalGAP already incorporates a number of practices in line with the SDGs. On 26 September, the GlobalGAP Board decided to formally adopt its current alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN. Contributing to the SDGs is a collaborative effort, which is also part of GlobalGAP’s principles, and working towards GlobalGAP certification is already an important milestone towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

For the first time, all delegates of the Summit had the possibility to offset the carbon footprint of their journey to the event with carbon credits sponsored by the Gold Standard. “As a global organisation, GlobalGAP is aware of the impact of all our activities and thank the Gold Standard for this collaboration,” said GlobalGAP CEO Kristian Moeller.

Young academics awarded for research efforts

GlobalGAP invited young researchers to submit original and/or relevant research pieces on subjects related to Good Agricultural Practices for presentation in the form of a poster at the GlobalGAP Summit 2016. A total of 37 abstracts were submitted from around the world and evaluated by the jury.

The winning piece with the title, ‘Assessment of irrigation water quality and microbiological safety of leafy greens at GlobalGAP and non-GlobalGAP certified production systems’, was submitted by Gape Jongman from the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Pretoria, South Africa. Being the finalist, he was invited to the Summit, where he was able to present his research.

A total of 37 abstracts were submitted from 26 universities in 21 countries around the world, underlining the global reach of the GlobalGAP Young Academics Award.

Good Agricultural Practice Awards

The GAP Awards merit producers who have achieved outstanding results through their commitment to GlobalGAP principles. This year's awards went to the Ranadi Plantation Partnership from Fiji, Varcli Pinares S.A. from Costa Rica, Muviwapasi Association c/o Africado Ltd. from Tanzania, and Goshogawara Agricultural and Forestry High School from Japan.

In addition, GlobalGAP's Lifetime Achievement Awards went to Richard Yudin, Fyffes plc, and Willem Hofmans, Ahold Delhaize, for their unceasing efforts in the area of Good Agricultural Practices over the past decades. Finally, the National Technical Working Group Award went to the Netherlands for its efforts to help adopt GlobalGAP's universal standard on a local scale.

For more information, visit: www.summit2016.org