Ministerial Decree 22 January 2014 concerning adoption of the National Action Plan for the sustainable use of plant protection products, pursuant to article 6 of the legislative decree No. 150/2012.

The Plan has the scope to guide, guarantee and monitor a process of change toward a more sustainable use of phytosanitary products and practices, with a greater respect of environmental and public health principles. The Plan poses a particular attention on agronomic practices for the prevention and / or killing of harmful organisms as listed in Annex III of Legislative Decree no. 150/2012. The Plan also provides for improvement solutions to reduce the impact of plant protection products even in urban areas, roads, railways, gardens, schools, playgrounds and other public access areas.
The Plan s objectives are: a) reduce the risks and impacts of plant protection products on human health, the environment and biodiversity; b) promote the application of integrated pest management, organic farming and other alternative approaches; c) protect users of plant protection products and the population concerned; d) protect consumers; e) safeguard the aquatic environment and drinking water; f) conserve biodiversity and protect ecosystems.
The established actions are: 1) ensure widespread and systematic training on the risks associated with the use of phytosanitary products; 2) ensure accurate information of the population about the potential risks; 3) ensure a capillary and systematic control, regulation and maintenance of spraying machines; 4) ban aerial spraying; 5) develop specific conservation actions in areas of high environmental value and aquatic environment; 6) guarantee that handling, storage and disposal of plant protection products and their containers is done safely; 7) favor non intensive use of plant protection products for of agricultural crops in respect of more sophisticated agronomic techniques, in order to safeguard biodiversity and protect plants; 8) increase organic farming method and voluntary integrated defense techniques on agricultural land; 9) identify useful indicators to measure actions performance and encourage monitoring results dissemination.
The Plan, in addition to the overarching objective of making agriculture more sustainable, also enables a more inclusive and efficient agricultural system, through promotion of capacity building and knowledge sharing for rural workers and other subjects connected to the supply chain of phytosanitary products on the potential risks of their usage. Initiatives include: training, certifications and courses to sell and handle products and to work as consultant; inclusion and participation of community and agrobusinesses that might be affected in the process; development of dedicated courses at University.