Project: Assistance conducting surveys on use of plant protection products

Conducting surveys with farmers to find out what plant health products are used in the main Spanish crops and the quantities used.

Analysis and monitoring of the Sustainable Use of Pesticides is one of the main dimensions for making policy on Environment and Sustainable Development. The availability of statistics on sales and use of pesticides is essential for assessing risks to health and the environment associated with their use.

The surveys provide the amounts of plant health products used on each crop per unit area, which allows the identification of waste type and the study of its persistence. They are the first tool in a plan for control in the food chain, targeting both the Administration responsible for carrying out those controls, and the reference laboratories, about which products are used in the field, and the amounts employed in different crops.

The surveys on the Use of Plant Health Products, were targeted to the owners of farms, with more than 6,000 surveys being conducted, and allowed among other objectives, the improvement of controls on the distribution of plant protections and their active substances.
The Statistics on Use of Plant Protection Products and their Commercialization, a collaboration of Tragsatec with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment, are part of the National Statistical Plan (2013-2016).