CASTRIES, St Lucia (CMC) — The St Lucia-based Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Commission is conducting a series of three-day train the trainer programmes in Good Agriculture Practices (GAP) Audit.

The first training programme was held yesterday in Dominica and will be followed by similar workshops in St Lucia, St Kitts-Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, and St Vincent and the Grenadines.

The commission said that the programme, which will end during the week of April 25, aims to provide an understanding of the key role of GAP auditing in improving farm operations and ensuring the safety of food produced will demonstrate, the need to regularly assess farm management systems and practices and to measure performance.

“The course will outline different approaches to establishing GAP audit programmes, describe the key stages of audit planning and preparation; on-site activities and post-audit reporting. It will also examine the skills and techniques required to carry out effective audits,” the commission added.

The programme is being held in collaboration with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture under the 10th European Development Fund programme.

The Commission said that the GAP audit training course is designed for extension officers and private sector stakeholders along the value chain in the OECS, and will enable them to assist farmers in attaining high standards of food safety and quality performance.

“In particular, the extension officers and private sector stakeholders will receive training in conducting gap audits of farms with the ultimate goal of allowing these farms or produce from the farm to be certified under an appropriate system for inspection and certification,” it added.