Yongin Successfully Retains Status as Nation's Only Local Government GAP Certification Authority

[Suwon Ilbo = Park No-hun, Reporter] Yongin City, which has been the nation's only local government serving as a Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) certification authority, has been reselected as a GAP certification body by the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service.

According to Yongin City on the 14th, it received notification on the 12th from the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service of its selection as a GAP certification body, enabling it to provide one-stop GAP certification service to farmers within its jurisdiction through April 2027.

As a result, Yongin City farmers can process all procedures within Yongin, from certification application through safety analysis of heavy metals, water quality, and residual pesticides, to post-management.

GAP certification is a premium agricultural product certification system that manages and certifies factors threatening food safety, such as pesticides, heavy metals, and harmful organisms in agricultural products, from farm production through the moment products reach consumers' tables.

The National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service entrusts GAP certification work to organizations that meet standard requirements in organization, personnel, and facilities to efficiently handle agricultural product quality management certification work.

As of March 2022, there are 59 GAP certification bodies, and Yongin City is the only one selected as a certification body among both metropolitan and basic local governments as well as public sector organizations.

Since Yongin City Agricultural Technology Center was first designated as a GAP certification body in 2012, Yongin City will maintain its status as a certification body for 15 years through 2027.

Last year, the city participated in the Food Analysis Proficiency Assessment Plan (FAPAS) international proficiency evaluation program administered by the UK Food Environment Research Agency (FERA), proving that its residual pesticide analysis capability is at a world-class level for four consecutive years.

To date, 95 items (985 farms) in Yongin, including white rice, watermelon, grapes, and cucumbers, have received GAP certification and are subject to the city's rigorous management.

The city plans to continuously expand GAP-certified farms through December.

A city official stated, "Our efforts in supporting farmers have been recognized, befitting the title of the nation's only GAP certification body among local governments and public sector organizations," and added, "We will continue with rigorous certification and post-management so consumers can produce food they can trust."