Good Agricultural Practices in Sustainable Crop Production: Drivers, Profitability, Impacts and Challenges

Abstract

The rising global demand for food emphasizes the urgent need for sustainable intensification in crop production. Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) have developed into a comprehensive framework to tackle these challenges by promoting on-farm and post-harvest practices. This systematic review summarizes the main drivers influencing the adoption of GAPs alongside their profitability, benefits, and implementation challenges across diverse crop production systems. In conducting the review, a narrative synthesis approach was used due to variations in definitions of GAPs, study design, and outcome measures. The findings show that farmer education, income, farm size, and access to information are positively linked to the adoption of GAPs. GAPs also improve yield, enhance product quality, increase profitability, and reduce health and environmental risks through efficient input use, handling, and post-harvest management. GAPs help promote long-term sustainability. GAPs also significantly improve safety for farmers and others by supplying personal protective equipment (PPE) and ensuring proper maintenance of the pre-harvest interval (PHI). However, serious barriers to adoption remain, such as high initial costs, certification expenses, and skill gaps. Overall, the review provides an integrated understanding of the drivers, economic outcomes, and sustainability implications of GAPs. The insights generated may assist policymakers, extension personnel, and development agencies in designing targeted interventions to enhance GAP adoption and promote sustainable crop production.