Japanese government to help agricultural high schools get GAP-certified

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) jointly decided to mount a nationwide campaign to support agricultural high schools in getting international certification of Good Agricultural Practice (GAP).

MAFF and MEXT plan to set a target of making all agricultural high schools obtain a Global GAP Certificate or a Japanese GAP Certificate, and as such, all 306 agricultural high schools in Japan will be supported in their bids to be certified during the 2017 fiscal year.

With a view to achieving the target, MEXT will launch a nationwide campaign involving meetings at which it will provide teachers of agricultural high schools and school board members with information on the significance of GAP, and also with technical advice on how to get the GAP certification.

MEXT is considering the possibility of inviting farm advisors of agricultural cooperatives and agricultural extension workers who are experts in the GAP system to speak at these meetings.

Payments of financial subsidies to agricultural high schools will be also considered by the government in order to reduce the burden of costs such as specialist consultation fees and inspection fees incurred as part of the application for GAP certification.

Foodstuffs to be used in meals served at the athletes’ village at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics Games must be GAP certified. So, interest is growing in the GAP system among people in the agriculture and food supplies sector.