How to Keep Farm Records for GLOBALG.A.P. Certification in Kenya

Every year, Kenyan farms that are otherwise well-managed fail their GLOBALG.A.P certification audits for a single reason — incomplete or inconsistent farm records.

The farm itself may be clean. The workers may be trained. The pesticide storage may be properly constructed. But without the paper trail to prove it, an auditor cannot award certification. GLOBALG.A.P is not just a standard about how you farm — it is a standard about how you document what you do on your farm.

This guide explains exactly which farm records are required for GLOBALG.A.P certification in Kenya, how to set up a practical record keeping system that any farmer can maintain, and the five most common record keeping mistakes that cause farms to fail their audits.

Why Farm Records Are the Foundation of GLOBALG.A.P Certification

GLOBALG.A.P certification is built on a principle called traceability — the ability to track any product from the consumer’s plate back to the specific farm field where it was grown, harvested, and packed. Records are the mechanism that makes traceability possible.

When an EU supermarket buyer sources avocados, French beans, or passion fruit from a certified Kenyan farm, they are relying on that farm’s records to prove that the product was grown safely, harvested correctly, and handled without contamination. If a food safety incident occurs anywhere in the supply chain, records allow buyers and regulators to trace the product back to its source within hours.

For the Kenyan farmer, records serve a second equally important purpose — they are the evidence that your farm meets the standard. An auditor visiting your farm cannot be present for every spray event, every harvest, or every worker training session throughout the year. Records are the proof that those events happened correctly in the auditor’s absence.

GLOBALG.A.P divides its requirements into Critical Must, Major Must, and Minor Must categories. Record keeping requirements appear throughout all three categories. Failure to maintain required records is treated as a Major non-conformance — meaning a farm cannot achieve certification until those records are in place and complete.

The 8 Categories of Records GLOBALG.A.P Requires

1. Site History and Management Records

Every field on your farm must have a documented history covering previous crops grown, previous pesticide and fertiliser applications, and any soil management activities. Before planting a new crop, you must assess the site for contamination risks and document that assessment. New farms or farms entering a new field into their certified operation must conduct and document a risk assessment before production begins. Site history records do not need to be complex. A simple field register showing each field’s identification number, size, crop history for the past three years, and any known risk factors satisfies the GLOBALG.A.P requirement for most smallholder farms.

2. Pesticide Application Records

Pesticide records are the single most scrutinised document file in any GLOBALG.A.P audit. Every pesticide application on every field must be recorded. See the dedicated section below for full details on what these records must contain.

3. Fertiliser and Soil Amendment Records

Every application of fertiliser — organic or inorganic — must be recorded with the date, field, product name, application rate, operator, and method of application. Soil test results that justify fertiliser applications must be filed alongside application records. Farms using organic fertilisers such as compost or manure must document the source material and any treatment process to reduce pathogen risk.

4. Water Management Records

GLOBALG.A.P requires documented evidence of water quality monitoring for irrigation water. Farms using surface water or borehole water for irrigation must conduct periodic water quality testing and maintain the laboratory test certificates on file. The frequency of testing required depends on the water source and the crop — farms growing leafy vegetables or crops with edible parts close to the soil require more frequent testing than tree fruit operations.

5. Worker Health, Safety and Hygiene Records

Every worker on the farm must receive documented health and safety training covering pesticide handling, first aid, hygiene requirements, and emergency procedures. Training records must include the date, trainer name, topics covered, and signatures of all workers who attended. First aid kit inspection records, accident and incident reports, and records of any worker medical referrals must also be maintained.

6. Harvest and Post-Harvest Handling Records

Harvest records link your final product back to specific fields and specific dates — they are the foundation of your traceability system. Each harvest record must identify the field harvested, the date, the quantity harvested, the harvest team, and the post-harvest destination of the produce. Post-harvest handling records cover washing, grading, packing, and storage activities including temperatures, hygiene checks, and equipment cleaning.

7. Equipment Maintenance and Calibration Records

Sprayer calibration is a critical requirement — your spray equipment must be calibrated at least annually and the calibration record must show the date, method, and result. Maintenance records for all farm equipment used in crop production, harvesting, and post-harvest handling must be maintained. Calibration records for any measuring equipment — scales, thermometers, pH meters — must also be filed.

8. Internal Audit Records

GLOBALG.A.P requires farms to conduct internal audits of their own compliance against the standard at least once per year. The internal audit record must document which requirements were checked, who conducted the audit, what was found, and what corrective actions were taken. Our Kenya Farm Audit Checklist is designed specifically for conducting these internal audits and documenting the results.

Pesticide Application Records — The Most Critical File in Your Audit

Pesticide records receive more scrutiny from GLOBALG.A.P auditors than any other document category. This is because pesticide residues in food are the primary food safety risk that certification is designed to control — and because the consequences of pesticide MRL exceedance for export buyers are severe.

Every pesticide application on your farm must generate a record containing all of the following information:

• Date of application — the exact date, not an approximate week or month.
• Field identification — the specific field or block where the application was made, identified by the same field code used in your site map and field register.
• Crop and growth stage — what crop was treated and at what growth stage, for example “Avocado — flowering” or “French beans — vegetative growth.”
• Product name and registration number — the commercial product name and its PCPB registration number. Only products registered by the Pest Control Products Board for use on that crop in Kenya should be in your records.
• Active ingredient — the active ingredient of the product used, for example chlorpyrifos, mancozeb, or lambda-cyhalothrin.
• Application rate — the dose applied per hectare or per litre of water, matching the label recommendation.
• Total quantity used — the total volume of product used in that application event.
• Operator name — the name of the person who made the application. That person must have documented training in pesticide handling.
• Pre-harvest interval — the number of days between the application and the earliest permitted harvest date, as specified on the product label.
• Justification — why the application was made, for example “observed early blight symptoms in Block 3” or “routine preventive programme per IPM plan.”
• Equipment used — the sprayer used, with reference to the equipment’s calibration record.

Warning: Records that are missing any of these fields, that are written in pencil without verification, or that show application dates that do not match other farm records such as harvest logs will be flagged as non-conformances by auditors.

Building Your Farm Record Keeping System — Step by Step

Step 1 — Create your farm map and field register: Draw a simple farm map identifying every field or block on your farm. Give each field a code (e.g., F1, F2, Block A). Create a field register listing each field’s code, size in hectares, and current crop. This becomes the reference document that all other records link to.

Step 2 — Set up your record files: Create a physical file or folder for each of the 8 record categories. Label each folder clearly. Keep all files in one location — a lockable cabinet in your farm office or store. Auditors expect to find all records together and organised.

Step 3 — Train every person who will complete records: Every person who applies pesticides, supervises harvesting, or conducts activities requiring documentation must understand how to complete records correctly. Document this training in your worker training register.

Step 4 — Complete records at the time of the activity: Completing records retrospectively is the most common cause of failure. Records completed at the time of the activity are accurate. Records completed later from memory contain errors that auditors identify immediately.

Step 5 — Review records weekly: Designate one person to review all records at the end of each week. Check that all required fields are completed and that pre-harvest intervals have been respected. Correcting errors weekly prevents audit failures.

Step 6 — Conduct your annual internal audit: At least three months before your scheduled certification audit, conduct a full internal audit using our Kenya Farm Audit Checklist to identify gaps before the official auditor arrives.

5 Record Keeping Mistakes That Fail GLOBALG.A.P Audits

• ❌ Mistake 1 — Blanket spray records: Writing a single pesticide record covering the entire farm on one date when different fields were sprayed on different days. This fails cross-referencing checks instantly.
• ❌ Mistake 2 — Missing pre-harvest interval calculations: Spraying a product without recording the pre-harvest interval. Any harvest that appears to occur within a recorded interval is a serious non-conformance.
• ❌ Mistake 3 — Unregistered products: Recording the use of pesticides not registered by the PCPB for use on that crop in Kenya, or lacking acceptable MRL profiles for the target export market.
• ❌ Mistake 4 — Unsigned training records: Maintaining training logs without the signatures of the attending workers. Unsigned records do not provide evidence of training.
• ❌ Mistake 5 — Records that stop before the audit: Stopping record completion in the weeks right before an audit because activity slows down. Auditors expect records to be current up to the day of the audit.

Free Templates and Paid Tools for Kenyan Farmers

Agrosocial Services provides two levels of record keeping support for Kenyan farms preparing for GLOBALG.A.P certification.

Our Farm Records Pack at $5 contains editable templates for all 8 record categories formatted for Kenyan farming conditions and accepted by GLOBALG.A.P certification bodies. Templates are available in Word format for easy customisation and printing.

Our Kenya Farm Audit Checklist at $35 is a comprehensive pre-audit assessment tool covering all GLOBALG.A.P audit areas, including a full record keeping review section. It is used by farm managers to identify gaps before the official audit.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long must farm records be kept for GLOBALG.A.P certification?

GLOBALG.A.P requires farms to retain records for a minimum of two years. Some certification bodies operating in Kenya recommend three years as a precaution. All records from the current certification year and the previous certification year must be available for inspection at any audit.

Can farm records be kept digitally?

Yes — GLOBALG.A.P accepts digital records provided the system used generates reliable, tamper-evident records with clear audit trails. Paper records remain the most common format on Kenyan farms because they are accessible without power or internet connectivity. A hybrid approach — completing paper records in the field and scanning them into a digital archive — works well for many Kenyan operations.

What language must farm records be in?

Records must be in a language that the farm manager and key workers can read and understand. English is acceptable and is the most common language used for farm records on Kenyan export farms. Swahili records are also acceptable. Records in a language that the farm’s workers cannot read will not satisfy the worker training and involvement requirements of the standard.

What happens if an auditor finds records are incomplete?

Incomplete records are recorded as non-conformances during the audit. Minor non-conformances in record keeping can be corrected within a defined timeframe after the audit — typically 28 days — and certification can still be granted once corrections are verified. Major non-conformances in critical record categories such as pesticide records result in certification being withheld until a full corrective audit confirms the records are complete and compliant.

Do cooperative members each need their own records?

Yes — under GLOBALG.A.P Option 2 group certification, each member farmer in the group must maintain their own farm records for their own fields. The producer organisation’s internal audit system must verify that all member records are being maintained correctly. This is one of the most challenging aspects of group certification for smallholder cooperatives and is where Agrosocial’s on-farm training support provides the most value.

Where can I get farm record templates for Kenya?

Our Farm Records Pack contains professionally designed templates for all required GLOBALG.A.P record categories, formatted specifically for Kenyan farming conditions. Templates are editable in Microsoft Word and can be customised for your specific farm, crops, and field codes.