National Action Plan for mitigating the risks related to the use of plant protection products 2013.

The National Action Plan for mitigating the risks related to the use of plant protection products laid down in the annex that is an integral part of this Decision is hereby approved.
The aim of the National Action Plan is to optimize the use of plant protection products in Romania, taking into consideration the implications for human health and environmental protection and also the socioeconomic implications. The implementation of the specific provisions laid down in the National Action Plan must be correlated with other relevant objectives of the common agricultural policy, such as greening measures and agriculture intensifying actions, sectoral policies in the area of environment protection (water, soil and biodiversity), and human health policies. The National Action Plan highlights specific objectives and measures pursuant to the provisions of Government Emergency Order No 34/2012, approved by Law No 63/2013, that are relevant for the following topics: training system for professional users/farmers, distributors and counsellors, marketing of plant protection products, aerial spraying of plant protection products and inspection of the application equipment, specific measures for the protection of the aquatic life, management of product use in specific areas, handling and storing of plant protection products, integrated pest management and running of communication and awareness raising programmes concerning the use of plant protection products. An important element for achieving and measuring the general and specific objectives of the National Action Plan is the definition of risk indicators, in particular social, environmental and economic indicators, which enables periodic monitoring of the progress made during the implementation period of the National Action Plan.
In the context of the optimization and reduction of the risks related to the use of plant protection products, it is recommended to promote alternative non-chemical techniques, such as the use of biological plant protection products or the increase of agricultural areas cultivated according to green techniques. Depending on the results of the biannual assessments concerning the implementation of the National Action Plan, measures shall be taken to update the plan so as to comply with plant health requirements. The National Action Plan also includes indicators to monitor the use of plant protection products containing active substances of particular concern, especially if alternative methods are available. These indicators enable the assessment of the general and specific objectives concerning the sustainable use of plant protection products within the National Action Plan. The indicators presented in the National Action Plan may be analyzed at farm/agricultural holding level as well as macro level, for instance, at the level of the agricultural sector.
Direct objectives of this text are listed as follows: mitigation of the risk related to the use of plant protection products; optimization of the use of plant protection products ensuring the quantitative and qualitative parameters of the agricultural production. For each objective, three main areas of measures are proposed in the following fields: protection of human health; environment protection, with focus on the protection of waters, biodiversity and the soil; regulation of issues related to the storage, marketing and use of plant protection products, and ensuring competitiveness of the Romanian agricultural sector. The National Action Plan contains objectives and measures aimed at reducing the dependency on the chemical methods for the control of pests, illnesses and weeds, and thus providing the professional users (farmers) with specific information concerning the integrated management of pests and alternative non-chemical methods.
The reduction of the dependency on chemical methods for plant protection mitigates the impact of plant protection activities on the wild flora and fauna, as well as on biodiversity conservation, in particular by establishing concrete measures for the promotion of appropriate agri-environmental concepts, such as crop rotation, and other similar. With regard to the reduction of the dependency on chemical methods for the control of pests, illnesses and weeds, the following must be considered: the farm revenues must not be affected by this process; the information exchange between the social partners in the field must be intensified and improved. The main aspects aimed at reducing the risk related to the use of plant protection products are the protection of the consumers and farmers against the risks for health and the harmful effects resulted from the use of plant protection products, and the direct and indirect protection of the environment against the harmful effects of plant protection products in farms, along the water courses and in protected natural areas.