Course description
This course offers comprehensive training on Good Agricultural and Collection Practices (GACP), as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) and applicable regional standards. GACP provides a quality assurance framework for cultivating, collecting, and handling medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs), ensuring safety, efficacy, and traceability from field to factory. Participants will gain practical knowledge of how to implement GACP at the farm level, including sustainable collection, documentation, contamination control, and post-harvest processing. This course supports producers, processors, and exporters in achieving regulatory compliance and market access while promoting environmental stewardship and product integrity.
What You’ll Learn
By the end of the course, you will be able to:
- Understand the principles and objectives of WHO GACP for medicinal plants
- Identify critical factors in site selection, cultivation, and collection
- Implement good hygiene practices for personnel and production areas
- Establish documentation systems for traceability and compliance
- Apply sustainable wild collection techniques and ecological conservation
- Manage risks related to agrochemical use, heavy metals, and microbiological contamination
- Ensure proper harvesting time, post-harvest handling, drying, and storage
- Develop quality assurance protocols and internal audits
- Align with regulatory requirements for herbal raw materials in pharma and wellness sectors
- Prepare for GACP audits or certifications
Who Should Attend
- Cultivators and Collectors of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants
- Herbal Raw Material Suppliers and Processors
- Quality Assurance and Regulatory Affairs Professionals
- Traditional Medicine Producers (Ayurveda, TCM, Unani, etc.)
- Contract Farming Coordinators
- R&D and Agronomy Experts
- Certification Bodies and Agricultural Extension Officers
Recommendations
- No prior GACP or GMP experience required
- Background in herbal farming, agriculture, or phytopharma is beneficial
- Suitable for companies exporting to EU, ASEAN, or regulated herbal markets
Skills
- WHO GACP guideline interpretation and practical implementation
- Herbal raw material quality control and documentation
- Agrochemical and contaminant risk mitigation
- Eco-friendly collection and sustainable harvesting
- Drying, processing, and primary packaging best practices
- Traceability and batch record keeping
- GACP-GMP alignment for pharma integration
- Supplier qualification and audit readiness
- Compliance with pharmacopoeia monographs and market regulations
