March 17, 2023, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan – The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has helped Turkmenistan’s Ýigit farm in obtaining GLOBALG.A.P. international certification.
Ýigit is the largest greenhouse tomato producer in Turkmenistan, operating a 34-hectare facility in Kaka District of Ahal Region and employing more than 600 workers. The company is a member of the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Turkmenistan, supplying domestic and foreign markets, primarily Central Asia and former Soviet Union countries. Obtaining GLOBALG.A.P. certification will expand and diversify the company’s exports to premium markets, in addition to selling directly to global food retailers which have the highest product standards for their suppliers. A key objective of the USAID Trade Central Asia activity’s Export Facilitation Initiative is to incentivize local farmers in implementing the GLOBALG.A.P. standard by co-financing 80 percent of the costs of the required international certification audit.
USAID Country Representative to Turkmenistan Nino Nadiradze noted: “We are proud to partner with Ýigit on this significant export initiative. As a pioneering horticultural producer, Ýigit farm demonstrated its commitment to complying with one of the most widely-recognized Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) standards. USAID will continue to encourage other farmers to obtain ESG standards, such as GLOBALG.A.P., that offer new horizons in accessing global premium markets and boosting regional and global trade.”
Ýigit is now among 200,000 other producers with GLOBALG.A.P. certification in 132 countries. GLOBALG.A.P.-certified farms provide a superior product quality which is safe for consumers, conduct business in accordance with corporate social responsibility standards, care about the environment, and most importantly maintain better health and safety conditions for employees.
In 2021, USAID trained five private GLOBALG.A.P. farming consultants, who have subsequently received international qualification and are now authorized to use official GLOBALG.A.P. materials in training horticultural producers. Ýigit has benefitted from local farming consultants’ qualifications and expertise.
About USAID’s Trade Central Asia activity
The objective of USAID’s Trade Central Asia activity is to improve region-wide trade connectivity to accelerate economic growth and increase economic opportunity in Central Asia. It works to achieve this by harmonizing customs and border procedures, increasing public-private dialogue on trade and investment, improving cross-border firm-to-firm connectivity, and addressing gender-relevant trade issues.
About GLOBALG.A.P.
GLOBALG.A.P. is a brand of smart farm assurance solutions developed by FoodPLUS GmbH in Cologne, Germany, with cooperation from producers, retailers and other stakeholders across the food industry. These solutions include a range of standards for safe, socially, and environmentally responsible farming practices to ensure safe food for future generations.
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USAID is the world’s premier international development agency and a catalytic actor driving development results. For more information, visit the USAID Central Asia website: https://www.usaid.gov/central-asia-regional and Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/USAIDCentralAsia.
