This report sets out to share with developing countries the lessons and implications of Korea’s experience with the Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) system since its introduction in 2003. This paper is an analysis of and researches the introduction, processes, and current status of the system. “Good Agricultural Practices (GAP)” represents the proper management of hazardous elements such as pesticides, heavy metals, persistent organic pollutants or hazardous organisms that can linger in the agricultural environment and agricultural foods–in particular agricultural farmland where crops grow and agricultural water throughout each step of production such as harvest (including storage, cleaning, drying, sorting, cutting, preparation, packaging of agricultural food) and distribution (“Agricultural product quality control act”)Article 2, section 4View
Currently, the number of GAP certification authorities, certified farmers and authentication processes has shown an increasing trend. Through the introduction of the GAP system, consumers are able to purchase safe agricultural foods as safety checks and mechanisms are increasingly enforced. GAP is the safety management system for Agri-food for which the behavior code forms the golden rule. The operation of the system is basically subject to the voluntary and active participation of the farmers as behavior subjects. As the GAP system is directly related to the consumer market for Agri-food, the government must be actively involved in enhancing the awareness of the safety of foods among consumers. This lack of participation was initially an obstacle for Korea during the pilot project. The government should also continuously promote and advertise the GAP system, emphasizing the differentiation in safety that the system promises for Agri-food. When developing countries adopt the GAP system in the future, they will enhance their potential for success by taking into consideration their own unique agricultural market factors and by referring to the Korean case analyzed in this study.
