Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
in a way so as to produce and deliver the required plants or flowers in the most
economical manner possible.
Economists refer to “externalities” as the side effects or consequences of indus-
trial or commercial activity. In many areas of horticulture, we have become increas-
ingly aware of unintended effects of our activities, and floriculture production is
no exception. In this chapter, we have already discussed the emotions and human
linkages with flowers, but for some consumers, emotions related to the authenticity,
environmental friendliness, sustainability or ecological purity are important driv-
ers of a purchase decision. Against this background, floriculture producers are in-
creasingly aware that promotion of ecological friendliness of flowers can influence
purchase decisions. To this end, in recent years, there has been increased interest in
programs that “certify” or “label” plants or flowers as having met specified require-
ments related to environmental and/or social responsibility. Most readers are prob-
ably familiar with such labelling, perhaps the most commonly known being “Fair
Trade” for coffee and other delicacies (Table 11.1 ).
Certification Programs
In floriculture, the first certification program was the Milieu Programma Sierteelt
(MPS), started in The Netherlands in 1994 (White 2012 ). At its inception, the main
goal of MPS was to help the Dutch greenhouse industry reduce the use of pesticides
and to this day remains an important goal. The MPS organization works with in-
dividual floriculture growers worldwide setting organizational goals that relate to
chemical, water or fertilizer use, social responsibility and related areas. The MPS
program has a number of levels depending on the complexity and depth of program
the grower wants. The basic program is the “ABC” program, where MPS provides
support to help growers record and monitor pesticide, fertilizer, energy (and other
inputs) used on a monthly basis. The grower is responsible for collecting this infor-
mation, and enters it onto a database. On a quarterly basis, MPS provides a simple
grade (A, B or C) to the grower. This designation can be used by the grower for vari-
ous purposes, including qualification for higher level certification (see nectalinea).
A major value of MPS-ABC is the ability of growers to benchmark themselves to
other similar businesses, or to growers in other countries. Part of this is because the
system tracks the usage of chemicals, not money spent on them, so direct compari-
sons based on active ingredient applied are possible.
Beyond MPS-ABC, there are higher level certifications for worker safety, health,
employment conditions and human rights (MPS-Socially Qualified). MPS-GAP
(GAP stands for Good Agricultural Practice) aims to help growers anticipate mar-
ket demands of the retail channel for safe, sustainably-cultivated, high-quality and
traceable products that require Global GAP standards. MPS-Quality aims to assist
growers in producing the highest possible quality crops. There are also specific cer-
tifications for the wholesaler and trader sides of the industry. The MPS program is
the most extensive certification label within floriculture. Aside from MPS, at least
8 related programs exist in the realm of “flower certification” (Table 11.1 ). These
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