What the WHO guidelines on good agricultural and collection practices (GACP) cover, how GACP differs from GMP, how to read a GACP certificate's scope, level and validity, and what GACP-certified cannabis from Morocco means in practice.
"GACP-certified" appears on many cannabis offers, and it means something specific. For buyers supplying pharmaceutical or other regulated channels, it is often the first quality requirement for plant-based starting material. It is also frequently misunderstood: GACP is not GMP, a certificate's scope matters as much as the certificate itself, and validity dates matter as much as either.
This guide explains what the WHO guidelines cover, how GACP fits with GMP, how to read a GACP certificate, and what our own WHO-GACP declaration covers.
The World Health Organization published its guidelines on good agricultural and collection practices (GACP) for medicinal plants to improve the quality and consistency of plant materials used as starting materials. They describe good practice for the whole agricultural stage, from choosing where and what to grow to how harvested material is dried, stored and documented.
Cannabis is one of many plants to which these principles are applied. In Europe, a closely related guideline on GACP for starting materials of herbal origin is also widely referenced. For buyers, the essential idea is the same: the plant material has been produced under documented, controlled and traceable conditions.
GACP guidance is organised around the stages and the conditions that affect plant quality. In broad terms, it addresses:
The thread running through all of it is documentation and traceability. A GACP operation can show what was grown, where, how and when, and what happened to it afterwards.
A GACP certificate is the outcome of an assessment by a certification body. The detail varies by scheme, but auditors generally check that practice on the ground matches the guidelines and that records back it up:
Certificates are issued for a limited period, and schemes generally require re-assessment to renew them. When you qualify a supplier, it is reasonable to ask when the certificate expires and how renewal is planned, so your own documentation stays continuous.
A common misunderstanding is that GACP certification on its own means material is produced to pharmaceutical standards. It doesn't. Pharmaceutical supply chains usually divide responsibilities:
Exactly where the line falls depends on the product and on the regulator. For a buyer, two questions matter: which steps does the GACP certificate cover, and under which standard or authorisation do the later steps take place?
Treat a GACP certificate like any other certificate: read every field, not just the logo.
| Field | What to check |
|---|---|
| Issuer | Who issued it, and whether that body is recognised in your market |
| Standard | Which guideline it certifies against, such as the WHO GACP guidelines |
| Holder | The legal entity matches your supplier |
| Scope | Which activities (cultivation, drying, storage) and which plants or varieties |
| Sites | Which production sites and facilities are covered, usually listed in an annex |
| Level or grade | If the scheme grades conformity, the level achieved |
| Validity | Issue date and expiry date, and whether renewal is planned |
Two checks prevent most problems. First, the scope must cover the material you are buying: the right plant, the right varieties, the right activities. Second, the dates must cover the batch: a certificate issued after a batch was produced does not certify that batch.
LSQA, an agrifood certification body based in Montevideo and a member of IQNET, has issued Declaration of Conformity PP90/01 for our operation:
| Field | Our declaration |
|---|---|
| Standard | WHO guidelines on good agricultural and collection practices (GACP) for medicinal plants |
| Scope | Production, storage and drying of Cannabis sativa from Beldia and CBD strains |
| Level achieved | A |
| Location | Chefchaouen province, Morocco |
| Issued | 18 December 2025 |
| Valid until | 18 December 2026 |
The certified operation comprises six production sites of one hectare each, run with two partner cooperatives, with an estimated combined output of around seven tonnes of dry biomass a year. Drying and storage take place at a certified facility operated under our name in the same province.
What it covers, and what it doesn't. The declaration covers the agricultural part of the chain: growing, drying and storing the plant material. Turning that material into resin, by sifting, static refinement, ice-water extraction and pressing, is done at our facility under ANRAC authorisation 52/A5/0223 for transformation and manufacturing. Export runs under ANRAC authorisation 54/A8/0223. The full picture is on Quality & Compliance.
We are not EU-GMP certified; we are advancing toward EU-GMP certification. For buyers who need EU-GMP material today, GMP conversion is carried out by our partners in Switzerland and Portugal. If your channel requires GMP, raise it at the start: it shapes the route the material takes and the documents you receive.
For an importer, GACP-certified cannabis from Morocco means you can document where and how the plant material was grown and handled. That is usually required by pharmaceutical customers and regulators, and it is valuable in any regulated channel. In practice:
Our GACP declaration, ANRAC authorisations and laboratory reports are available to approved buyers in the portal. Apply for trade access, or request a COA from any product page, such as Dry Resin.
Good Agricultural and Collection Practices. The WHO guidelines on GACP for medicinal plants describe how plant material should be grown, harvested, dried, stored and documented so that it is of consistent, traceable quality.
No. GACP covers the agricultural stage: cultivation, harvest and primary post-harvest handling such as drying and storage. GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) covers manufacturing. A GACP certificate does not make the downstream processing GMP.
LSQA's Declaration of Conformity PP90/01 covers production, storage and drying of Cannabis sativa from Beldia and CBD strains in Chefchaouen province, at Level A, valid until 18 December 2026. Processing into resin runs under our ANRAC transformation authorisation.
No. We are advancing toward EU-GMP certification. Where a buyer needs EU-GMP material today, conversion is carried out by our partners in Switzerland and Portugal.