The certifications have been created as a response to the demands of consumers, were retailers and their global suppliers have created and implemented a series of sector specific farm certification standards. The standards are primarily designed to reassure consumers about how food is produced on the farm by minimising detrimental environmental impacts of farming operations, reducing the use of chemical inputs and ensuring a responsible approach to worker health and safety as well as animal welfare. The aim is to ensure integrity, transparency and harmonisation of global agricultural standards.
These standards serve as a practical manual for Good Agricultural Practice (G.A.P.) anywhere in the world. As an example GLOBALGAP is a single integrated standard with modular applications for different product groups, ranging from plant and livestock production to plant propagation materials and compound feed manufacturing. This new standard version integrates all farm products into a single farm audit.

The origins of GLOBALGAP started as an initiative by European retailers in 1997, the Euro-Retailer Produce Working Group (EUREP), were they came up with a EurepGAP document and procedures as agreed among partners from the entire food chain for Fruit and Vegetables after a wide consultation phase. The EurepGAP TSC for Fruit and Vegetables was evaluated and approved the new versions of the normative documents for fruit and vegetables – the EurepGAP General Regulations for Fruit and Vegetables, the Control Points and Compliance Criteria, and the Checklist. These versions were converted from EUREP to GLOBAL so that they encompass the global demands and expectations, and no longer limited to Europe, but now apply to the Global arena. Feed-back from audits have been incorporated to make the new version of the standard more relevant to today’s concerns and advanced production techniques.

GLOBALGAP is a private sector body that sets voluntary standards for the certification of agricultural products around the globe. The standard serves as a global reference system for other existing standards and can also easily and directly be applied by all parties of the primary food sector.
In other words, GLOBALGAP operates like a satellite navigation system. It equips members with a reliable tool kit, which allows each partner in the supply chain to position themselves in a global market with respect to consumer requirements.

It would be desirable if all farmers and small holders could acquire GLOBALGAP certification. In this regard it may mean that growers would have to invest more in safety, health and environment in their farming operations. The nearest accredited certifying bodies which Zimbabwean producers can use are in South Africa.

Meanwhile, Europe remains a lucrative market for Zimbabwean products regardless of all that has transpired. The country must fully exploit this market. It is important to note that the certification is not only useful when exporting to Europe alone, but it has become a world standard.

Fair-Mark is the only company in Zimbabwe providing the service of training, development and implementation of GlobalGap and other standards.

The BSCI offers member businesses a common management system for improving working conditions along their supply chains world-wide. Like the ETI, the BSCI created a code of conduct for doing this.

In common with standard conventions, standards, and other international declarations on labour law and human, children’s, and women’s rights, the o bjective of the BSCI code of conduct is to enable businesses to become compliant with certain social and environmental standards. By adhering to the BSCI code of conduct, companies undertake to recognise, within their sphere of influence, the social and environmental standards set forth in the code and to take suitable measures in their company policy for ensuring the implementation and observance of these standards.

Furthermore, the suppliers must ensure that the code of conduct is also observed by subcontractors involved in the production processes and final manufacturing phases carried out on behalf of BSCI members. Depending on their options for action and suitable measures to adopt, these suppliers are obligated to adopt the following criteria for a developmental approach:

1. Observance of laws
2. Rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining
3. Ban on discrimination
4. Salaries
5. Work hours
6. Health and safety in the workplace
7. Ban on all abusive forms of child labour
8. Ban on all forms of forced and compulsory labour
9. Problems linked to the environment and safety

The BSCI provides its members with a series of recommendations and auditing tools for implementing this code of conduct. Only SAAS (Social Accountability Accreditation Services) accredited agencies may perform BSCI audits. Like the ETI, the BSCI encourages businesses to do more than what is required by the code of conduct and to comply with what the BSCI considers to be the best practice in the sector, namely the SA 8000 private voluntary standard. Unlike the SA 8000 and the ETI, the BSCI includes an environmental stewardship principle (no. 9) in its code of conduct.

Like the ETI and the SA 8000, however, there is no label on the final product (Bto-B). The BSCI provides businesses with a framework and a harmonised approach for managing their auditing procedures in order to ensure that the results of the audits conducted by different businesses are comparable with each other.