While the number of certificates, standards and guidelines is only increasing for growers, the stack of papers on the desks of growers and traders is also growing. In world of continual digitisation, you’d expect these documents could also be filled out digitally, but nothing is further from the truth. “Growers sometimes work with questionnaires of 300 questions, and, for example, GlobalGAP, 52 proofs have to be supplied as well, that’s quite a file,” says Nico Broersen from AgriPlace. He is trying to change things with his company, by digitising necessary data for certificates. He predicts that will also have many benefits for trade.
“Global growers have to meet many various standards,” Nico explains. GlobalGAP, GRASP, Field to Fork, Tesco Nurture, and the Albert Heijn Protocol are just some of the standards that have to be met in order to be allowed to supply to certain supermarkets. To supply to a European retailer, at least GlobalGap certification is necessary, but many chains have additional requirements.”We help making all of the data digital, and couple the proofs to the various questionnaires of the standards,” Nico says. “A major advantage is that audits at the companies take less time, because all of the information is digitised, and the auditor can view the information in advance. We are currently working with various auditors in the Netherlands and in several other countries to optimise this method even more for the auditors. We can definitely make improvements in that field by working together.”
Growers and trade
Simply put, the software behind AgriPlace recognises the overlap in the requirements. The various digitised proofs are coupled to the questions concerned of various standards, which are therefore automatically answered. Because of that, a grower has to answer the questions only once. “We now have a solution for the growers and cooperatives, we want to expand the module for traders and supermarkets this year,” Nico says. Because of that, the company is currently in talks with various importers, including Levarht, Faritrasa, OTC and The Greenery, to make an inventory of all wishes. The objective is for AgriPlace to function as an intermediary for the certificates and standards that are met.
Just like growers, trade is also asked about standardisation and certification of the products increasingly often. “We want to make that process easier by offering growers the option to make the information they filled in for their own AgriPlace account available for trade as well.” That brings a different discussion to the foreground, because who owns that data filled in by the growers? “The grower does,” Nico resolutely says. “All data put in by the growers, remains his or her property. We will never use that data or pass it on.” He exemplifies: if a grower wants to supply consumption potatoes to Albert Heijn, and the supermarket chain asks for a proof of the certificate, the grower has to give permission through the system, and e-mail a link. “The grower is the only one to decide who to give access to his data.” That will also be the case for the traders who want to use the system.
More languages and countries
The new module should give traders a quick overview of he suppliers and which certificates those companies have. An example: when a trader gets a call from Tesco to supply onions, the trader can see in the system which of his suppliers meet the Tesco standards with just a click of the mouse. “Trade is fast-paced, so it is important for a trader to quickly have access to the supplier’s certificate.”
In 2016, AgriPlace entered the market for the first time. In that year, 1,200 growers joined the network. The number of countries and languages in which the service is available, is increasingly being expanded. “Besides Dutch, English and Spanish, we are also planning on adding French and Portuguese. With that, the service will be available for all of Africa and Latin America, as well as for a large number of countries in Asia. Demand from business will decide which countries and languages will be a priority.”
Local interpretation of GlobalGAP
Putting in the certification standards is still a bottleneck. The GlobalGAP agreements, for instance, leave room for local interpretation of the standards. Because of that, cooperation with several local departments still has to happen in order to properly put in the standards. Although the certification authorities are cooperative, it’s still quite a job.
“We are also working with SIFAV from the Institute for Sustainable Trade, a covenant between retailers, importers and exporters and the government to make the trade in fresh produce products more sustainable. Slowly but surely the number of certificates in the system should be expanded. For that, growers can also indicate which certification they would like to see in the system. In coming years, mostly the users will decide what the priorities are, both for growers and for trade.”
EU Bio popular in Spain
The first year also saw the first applications of Spanish and South African growers and cooperatives. In 2017, a rapid increase is predicted for those countries. Spain also has 35,000 organic growers, and that number is quickly rising. Together with local parties, AgriPlace is currently working on optimising the solution for the organic growers.
International rollout with traders
Some of those cooperatives are already working with seven or eight different standards that the members have to meet. In that way, cooperatives can supply to several supermarkets and buyers throughout the world. In the future, AgriPlace strives for a system that’s smart enough to recognise the overlap between all the certificates, and can automatically indicate how many points have to be improved or which information is necessary to gain additional standards. Costa Rica and Ghana are also countries that can now use the system. Besides an increase in Africa, AgriPlace also predicts a quick rise in Latin America. “However, this year we really want to start working with traders and retailers, so that AgriPlace can meet their need for digitally acquiring information from growers, and passing this on to their customers. For this, a special Trade Module is being developed with trade, and this should be finished mid-2018,” Nico concludes. “We expect an even larger increase then.”
Agriplace