Working with contractors

Contractors play a vital role on every orchard to help get our product to market. As part of their job they move from orchard to orchard to take on work, but that poses a potential risk to your fruit so we must ensure they’ve taken precautions and are certified to work.

There are two types of contractors you might use:

CAV contractors (GAP)

Contractors that provide certain on-orchard services (the services listed below) must be registered in the GLOBALG.A.P. Contractor Programme (Contractor Programme) and hold a valid Compliance Assessment Verification (CAV).

The services are:

Harvest (picking)
Spray application (including weed spraying under the vine)
Fertiliser application (including compost)
Vine maintenance (including all kinds of pruning and thinning).

It’s important you use only contractors who hold a valid CAV for these on-orchard activities.

For more information on the Contractor Programme, please visit CAV contractors (GAP).

CAV contractors (GAP)

Example of overhead shelter for protection

Other contractors

You might also use contractors to provide services on-orchard that fall outside the scope of the Contractor Programme. These activities might include:

Grafting
Girdling
Supply of beehives
Pollen application
Mowing and mulching
Shelter maintenance
Repair and maintenance of orchard structures
Pest monitoring
Crop estimation
Maturity clearance
Mapping
Irrigation
Infrastructure development.

Contractors that provide only the above services do not require a CAV. However, if a contractor provides any of these services, AND harvest, vine maintenance, spray application and/or fertiliser application activities, they will need to register in the Contractor Programme.

In order to comply with your GLOBALG.A.P. commitments and ensure the safety and integrity of the crop, we need to collect specific paperwork from these contractors that demonstrates they’re maintaining our high standards.

Find out more information on the Other Contractors page, including what documentation they need to supply to you.

Other contractors

Verify a contractor’s CAV

It is important to cross-check any CAV certificate a contractor shows you, so that you’re sure it is valid. You can do this by cross-checking the CAV against the approved contractor list and by referencing the suspended and cancelled contractor list.

Cross-checking CAVs against the official list is the best way to ensure that any contractor you are engaging to provide services that require a CAV is currently meeting their GAP and GRASP responsibilities.

If a contractor presents a CAV certificate but does not appear on the list, please notify compliance@zespri.com.

It’s important to keep copies of the CAVs from each contractor and subcontractors who work on your orchard so you can demonstrate compliance when it comes time for your inspection.