John Libbey Eurotext




HACCP methodology and quality/environmental specifications for crop farms. Implications for the design of good agricultural practices guidelines
Cahiers Agricultures. Volume 14, Number 3, 313-22, Mai - Juin 2005, Étude originale
Résumé Article gratuit
Author(s) : Christine Aubry, Marie-Béatrice Galan, Armelle Mazé
Summary : With the increasing concern of consumers and citizens regarding the quality of agricultural products as well as their impact on environmental resources, farmers are facing a drastic extension of contractual requirements on the part of retailers and agro-food firms related to environmental specifications on their production techniques and their farming practices. The recent development of quality assurance schemes in many European countries, like Eurep-Gap system in Germany and other countries, the Red Tractor quality assurance scheme in Great Britain… is following this trend. From an agronomic point of view, all these requirements may appear relevant and farmers could be required to meet them. However, at farm level, all these quality/environmental requirements are adding and creating new organizational constraints, which may be sometimes incompatible or even have conflicting objectives between themselves. Another analytical approach is thus suggested for the definition as well as for the evaluation of quality/environmental specifications in Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) guidelines to be applied by farmers in order to promote a more environment-friendly agriculture. This article analyses alternative strategies for adapting the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) methodology to the agricultural context in the design of GAP guidelines focusing on cropping systems. The question is, more specifically, that of addressing the design of tools and advisory methods in order to facilitate its implementation by a large number of farmers. Data is based on the results of an action research project conducted with the extension services of Picardie (Northern France) allowing for a detailed analysis of the scientific and methodological principles underlying the design process of the GAP guideline Quali’Terre® used in France as a reference for the definition of the regulatory specifications on “integrated agriculture” (Agriculture raisonnée in French) and for an empirical assessment of its feasibility by farmers through a test on a sample of 100 crop farms in this region. Contrasting with other analytical approaches, one of the main innovations is to consider the farm as a whole, and not only through one specific production or type of environmental risk for the analysis. The implementation of the HACCP methodology also serves today as a reference in such areas as food safety or environmental management. One main interest is linked to its procedural dimension for the prioritization of risks and the identification of corrective measures. However, some adaptations may be required for its implementation in agricultural activities in crop farms. We show that, instead of performing an individual risk analysis for each farm, the appropriate design of regional Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) guidelines, as is the case with the GAP Quali’Terre®, may serve such objectives as well as introduce farmers into a continuous improvement cycle in the spirit of the ISO 14000’s environmental management system. The article presents the various steps to be followed for the achievement of this GAP guideline, combining scientific expertise in a first step, and in a second step, the expertise of a group of advisors using their accurate knowledge of local farmer’s practices for its translation into an operational guideline relevant to the regional context. We thus emphasise the importance of auditing notebooks for the interpretation of the technical requirements to the specific situation of each farm. Last, based on empirical data gathered on a sample of 100 farms in Picardie (North of France), we analyse the scope and nature of the difficulties met by farmers for the effective implementation of this particular GAP guideline and we identify the main stumbling blocks. These involve not so much investments and financial constraints as organizational burdens for farmers, especially those regarding the management of information.
Keywords : Farming systems, Tools and methods, Product quality and security.

HACCP methodology and quality/environmental specifications for crop farms. Implications for the design of good agricultural practices guidelines