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<p>The goal of this project is to prepare small-scale produce growers and farmers in NC for the upcoming PTI requirements and provide experiential learning opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students. The objectives of this research are to: </p>
<p>(1) provide training on practical Standard Operation Procedures (SOPs), Sanitary Standard Operating Procedures (SSOPs), Good Management Practices (GMPs), and Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) specifically designed for traceability systems for small-scale produce farmers in NC, </p>
<p>(2) introduce small-scale farmers to barcode systems that allow economical and efficient collection of accurate traceability record-keeping data, </p>
<p>(3) enroll select farms in a pilot traceability implementation demonstrations and proof of concept/cost-effectiveness study, </p>
<p>(4) evaluate the impact of the implementation study on participating small-scale farms, and </p>
<p>(5) establish a centralized research support system that will give access to minority and small-scale farmers to use the new barcode system. </p>
<p>The proposed project will improve small-scale produce farmers' understanding of SOPs, GAPs, and barcode systems and ultimately enable them to implement these plans/systems in their farming operations. It will also improve their knowledge of food safety through exchanges with extension specialist, experiential learning during training on adaptations of SOPs, GAPs, and barcode systems that uniquely suit their operations and financial constraints. The project will shift farmers' view of fresh produce safety from the conventional record less step approach to that of a system-based approach involving accurate record keeping and control of their entire farming operations. Participating farmers will also be better positioned to enhance their competitiveness to keep their market share and avoid costly liabilities. A secondary, but extremely important, outcome of the project will be the creation of multidisciplinary research and experiential learning opportunities for students in Food Science and Nutrition and Agribusiness, Applied Economics and Agriscience Education Programs at NCA&T.</p>
<p>NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY:<br/> Traceability in the fresh produce industry has been an issue of concern for everyone from growers and packers to retailers and consumers. As a result, the Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009 aiming to improve the FDA?s supervision of the nation?s food supply as to make it easier to track food was passed in July 2009. The Produce industry has also been very active in implementing the voluntary Produce Traceability Initiative (PTI) designed to create a common standard for electronically tracing produce through adaptation of a standardized system of barcoding for all produce sold in the United States. However, the PTI is led exclusively by larger growers, which places small-scale (local) farmers at a competitive disadvantage due to their limited resources and delayed entry. Concerns about adoption of traceability regulations have centered on the
cost of implementation, which may increase the financial burden to small-scale farmers. Therefore, there is a need for more training programs to educate small-scale produce farmers on the latest research-based state of knowledge about food safety-related traceability issues and ways to apply such knowledge to their farming operations. In an effort to prepare small-scale produce farmers for the upcoming PTI requirements, this project will provide select producers in North Carolina with training on practical standard operation procedures (SOPs) and good agricultural practices (GAP) for traceability systems; introduce small-scale farmers to barcode systems that allow economical and efficient collection of accurate traceability record-keeping data; and establish a centralized research support system that will give access to minority and small-scale farmers to use the new barcode system. This
project engages researchers and the agricultural community through educational and outreach activities supported by research to prepare small-scale produce farmers for the new fresh produce requirements and regulations being mandated to minimize the risk of produce contamination. This, in turn, will help improve both food safety and farm efficiency in the long-range and improve the sustainability of NC agriculture and food system.
<p>APPROACH:<br/> Objective 1. The recruitment of farmers will be carried out by using existing resources, such as Cooperative Extension and NC Fresh Produce Safety TaskForce (NCFPSTF). The educational curriculum (Field to Family Curriculum) developed by the NCFPSTF will be used to train the small-scale farmers (www.ncmarketready.org). This curriculum meets the needs of small-scale produce farmers to adopt GAPs, SSOPs, SOPs, and GMPs in their farming operations to improve microbial food safety of their produce and adjust their practices to implement the new traceability system (case labeling-GTIN). Objective 2. During the planned one-day workshops, farmers will be introduced to the new traceability system through demonstration of actual instruments used in the barcode tracking system. They will also be provided with examples of real-life case studies that were carried out
by the members of the research team. The farmers will be provided with educational materials including information on traceability instruments. The research team will cover the entire process of produce tracing at harvesting, washing/receiving, packing, storage, and shipping stages by taking farmers through real-life examples. Objective 3. At the time of the planned one-day training workshops, 18 farmers (farmers who have brand names) will be invited to participate in this pilot study to implement traceability concept in their farming operations. Once 18 farms are selected, the research team will visit these farms to start the implementation of traceability at their sites. Interventions to reduce the added cost of traceability to small-scale farmers will be explored through comparative testing of alternatives such as a) obtaining GTIN stickers online through a provider; b) sharing
barcode instruments assigned to a local cooperative or association; and c) purchasing barcode instruments for use by individual farmer. Benefit-cost analysis will be applied to value the implementation of traceability system for specific produce commodity. Data on actual cost from recalls of produce as a result of an outbreak will be collected from the USDA and additional cost of law suits will be also estimated. The overall cost/benefit data analysis for each intervention group will be shared with the participants to help them make informed decisions. Objective 4. In order to determine the impact of the implementation study on farms enrolled in the pilot intervention study, we will have follow-up visits to study farms to observe changes in their farming operations and conduct a final survey to evaluate if the implementation study resulted in improvements in farming operations and
knowledge about key issues such as GAP, GMP, etc. The improvement will be determined through changes in the levels of indicators used in both the baseline survey and the final survey. Objective 5. A centralized support system will be established and housed under the Cooperative Extension Services (CES) at NCA&T to provide the minority and small-scale farmers with taped videos of all workshops, workshop materials, and information regarding the produce traceability.