National Action Programme to achieve sustainable use of plant protection products for the period 2012–2022.

The Republic of Slovenia National action Programme to achieve sustainable use of plant protection products for the period 2012–2022 is here adopted and its complete text is part of this publication. This Programme is in accordance with principles of sustainable development of agriculture that have been defined as follows: ensuring food security through a stable production of safe and quality food that is affordable for all consumers; enhancing the competitiveness of agriculture and food technology; sustainable use of production potentials and ensuring public goods associated with agriculture; ensuring the harmonious and socially sustainable rural development (in cooperation with other policies). The Slovenian agricultural policy, with direct interaction with this text, introduces a multi-purpose agriculture approach and shall apply to all sources available in supporting its sustainable development, which implies economically effective and competitive, socially responsible and also environmentally sound agriculture, with an aim at organic or ecologic method of production. This includes also the sustainable protection of plants against various pests and weeds that cause unacceptable economic damage to food producers or are even detrimental to the biological diversity, and result in the presence of micotoxins and other harmful substances in agricultural products; therefore, in the production of food and feed such organisms are controlled by mechanical, biological and chemical methods. Plants and plant products in international trade are also subject to biosafety standards in order to prevent the spread of pests and weeds from production areas to consumption areas, particularly when the trade among different continents is involved. Principles and good practices form the International Plant Protection Convention are here envolved, among other listed documents.
General objectives of the Slovenian National action Programme to achieve sustainable use of plant protection products for the period 2012–2022 are: to minimise the hazard and risk to human and animal health and the environment from the use of plant protection products, including through the substitution of the most dangerous substances with safer (including non-chemical) alternatives; to reduce the levels of harmful active substances in food and drinking water, also through the substitution of the most dangerous ones with safer (including nonchemical) alternatives; to encourage the use of principles of integrated pest management in the agricultural production hence the plant protection products are used when absolutely necessary or economically justified only, in particular by raising users' awareness on the safe use of plant protection products, by promoting the development and introduction of organic farming and other sustainable agricultural practices; to develop a transparent system for reporting and monitoring the progress made in the achievement of the objectives of the Thematic strategy including the development of suitable indicators; to ensure the sustainable use of plant protection products in all plant species along with minimizing the risk from the use of such plant protection products.
Specific objectives of this National action Programme are: to minimize the use of plant protection products (in particular plant protection products that contain active substances which, when subject to approval renewal under the Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 will not fulfil the criteria relevant for approval laid down in the paragraphs 3.6 to 3.8 of Annex II of that Regulation); to technically justify the use of plant protection products, which shall be based on the improvement of technological procedures in the production of cultivated plants, with the assistance of the plant health forecasting service; to improve the professional competence of users; to minimize the plant protection products residues in Slovenian commodities, in order to not exceed the maximum residue limits; to minimize the contamination of surface and groundwater resulting from the use of plant protection products in regards of achieving environmental objectives for surface water in accordance with regulations that govern the status of surface water, and for groundwater in accordance with groundwater regulations; to improve the control over the effective use of groundwater (for agricultural and non-agricultural purposes) and over the disposal of plant protection products waste packaging; to establish a systematic monitoring of the impacts of plant protection products on certain non-target organisms, systematic monitoring of the poisoning of honey-bees, birds and fish; to minimize the number of poisoned honey-bees, birds and fish resulting from the use of plant protection products; to establish a systematic monitoring of the impacts of plant protection products on users’ health.