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What is the Assured Produce Scheme?

The Assured Produce Scheme promotes safe and environmentally responsible production of fruit, vegetable and salads through the use of Integrated Crop Management (ICM). This is a philosophy that recognises the need for crop production to be both economically and environmentally sustainable.

What are the Benefits?

Benefits to the grower:

• The grower has access to invaluable reference guides in the generic protocol and the crop specific protocols. These documents provide him with the latest advice and information on best horticultural practice. The standards he must meet ensure he keeps his inputs of pesticides and fertilisers to the absolute minimum necessary to meet the crop's needs.
  
  
• The grower producing crops in accordance with the scheme standards can confidently sell his produce to any supermarket or processor buyer. This saves him time and costs. In the absence of APS the grower would have to meet the requirements of a range of competing and potentially conflicting commercial standards.

Benefits to the consumer:

• Consumers buying fruit, salads and vegetables grown to APS standards can be confident in the safety and integrity of the produce they eat.
  
  
• APS growers follow the generic and crop specific protocols that are recognised as invaluable sources of reference. Constantly updated, they ensure growers are applying scientifically-based integrated crop management (ICM) techniques - i.e. good horticultural practices with emphasis on reducing whenever possible the use of pesticides, optimum use of fertilisers and improved protection of the environment.

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