Good agricultural practices (GAP)

Abstract

Myanmar ranks as the world's third-largest pulse producer, following Canada and India, cultivating crops like black gram, pigeon pea, chickpea, and green gram. Green gram constitutes a third of total pulse exports. To enhance productivity, quality, market competitiveness, and exports, Myanmar can leverage improved crop production technologies and adopt good agricultural practices (GAP). Small resource-poor farmers can readily adopt GAP's production standards, aligned with natural agroecosystems and Indigenous knowledge. Efficient management of limited resources depends on selecting quality, environmentally safe inputs. Green gram's success for quality and safe production existing adoption and achievements in the Central Dry Zone (CDZ) regions. In view of increased consumer awareness, ensuring food safety, quality, efficiency, and conservation becomes crucial. Strengthening farmers through organization and project-guided marketing is essential for sustained productivity and resource sustainability.Under the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ Global Agriculture and Food Security Climate Friendly Agribusiness Value Chain (FAO-GAFSP-CFAVC) Programme, GAP dissemination for five crops, including green gram, involves upgrading existing practices based on Myanmar’s GAP to ASEAN's GAP standards. The upgraded GAP version focuses on food safety, quality, worker health, safety, and environmental management. Implementing GAP enhances food safety and quality while promoting ecological sustainability in rice–legumes based production systems.Identified gaps in knowledge, access, and efficiency of inputs and services for green gram were addressed through a comprehensive situational analysis, involving project collaboration with various stakeholders including market actors. Validation and contextualization were achieved through data research, stakeholder discussions, and insights from relevant stakeholders.The dissemination of GAP involves capacity building of the farmers and relevant stakeholders, pulse growers associations, public–private partners, and value chain actors. The framework focuses pre- and post-harvest practices for safe, quality green gram production tailored to small and medium farmers. Key messages promote easy agronomic management practices. GAP rollout includes farmer organization support, technical assistance, market linkages, and training, supplemented by on-farm demonstrations, farmer field schools, and Information and communications technology (ICT) tools.User-friendly integrated pest management (IPM) handbooks and farmer field school (FFS) curriculum complement the framework, aiding farmers' capacity building and supporting existing GAP initiatives.