Ordinance 9 – Integrated Production of Plants and Its Control

Ordinance No. 9 of 26.02.2021 on integrated production of plants and plant products and control over the integrated production was promulgated in Issue 21 of the State Gazette of 12.03.2021.

The new Ordinance No. 9 repeals the currently applicable Ordinance No. 15 of 2007 on the conditions and procedures for integrated production of plants and plant products and their labelling; in addition, it will be a main part of the draft Strategic Plan for the period 2023–2027, which provides for additional funding for farmers who apply integrated production.

The Bulgarian Food Safety Agency (BFSA) will exercise full control over the implementation of integrated production of plants and plant products and over the persons providing advisory services for integrated pest management through the inspectors of the regional food safety directorates (RFSD). The registration of all farmers engaged in integrated production of plants and plant products will also be carried out by the BFSA.

The general provisions of the ordinance are summarized in the following points:

Integrated production of plants and plant products through the application of specific principles for integrated pest management – preparation of guidelines for integrated pest management

Integrated production of plants and plant products will be carried out on economically important agricultural crops (cereals, grain legumes, vegetables – in open-field and greenhouse production, fruit crops, berry crops, industrial and essential oil crops) and on other agricultural crops where a need has been identified and for which guidelines for integrated pest management have been developed.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry assigns to the Agricultural Academy the task of developing, jointly with scientists from other research institutions in Bulgaria and representatives of branch organizations, guidelines for integrated pest management. The guidelines will include information on the agrobiological requirements and agro-ecological conditions of the crops, preventive measures to limit the spread of pests, monitoring and observation of economically important pests and pest control. Priority will be given to the use of biocontrol agents, basic substances, plant protection products (PPP) based on microorganisms and low-risk plant protection products. It is also envisaged to restrict the use of PPPs from the professional category of use and, where the need to apply such products is substantiated, priority will be given to the use of plant protection products from the non-professional category of use. The guidelines will contain an integrated plant production plan, developed for a period of 5 years, which will be applied on the holdings. The plan will consist of a sketch of the production areas, crop rotation of the crops in the fields, a fertilization scheme in accordance with the annex, drawn up on the basis of the results of agrochemical soil analysis carried out in an accredited laboratory, and a month-by-month calendar plan for monitoring economically important pests on the crops.

Advisory services and control over them

Advisory services for integrated pest management are provided by persons who have the necessary professional qualifications in the field of agricultural sciences with a professional field “Plant Protection” or “Crop Production” and are entered in the register of the BFSA under the Plant Protection Act. Consultants must have equipment for pest diagnostics and access to agrometeorological information for the respective agro-ecological region. The advisory services for integrated pest management themselves consist in carrying out monitoring, diagnostics, forecasting and signalling of economically important pests on agricultural crops, as well as the methods and means for their control.

The regional food safety directorates (RFSD) will exercise control over the activities of the consultants for integrated pest management with regard to compliance with the requirements for the provision of services and will keep files on each individual consultant.

Registration of farmers carrying out integrated production of plants and plant products

Farmers who carry out integrated production of plants and plant products may be entered in the register under Article 6, paragraph 1, item 10 of the Plant Protection Act after submitting an application to the respective RFSD using a template approved pursuant to Article 3.

The electronic register will contain data on the farmer carrying out integrated production, the location of the areas where integrated production will be carried out, the type of plants and plant products, any registered change in the declared circumstances, and the date of deletion of the registration. Similarly to the consultants, a file will be kept for the registered farmers who carry out integrated production, containing information from inspections carried out during subsequent control. The inspections under paragraph 1 will be carried out in the presence of the farmer or his/her authorized representative, and for each inspection the plant protection inspectors shall draw up an inspection report using a template approved pursuant to Article 3.

Read the full text of Ordinance No. 9 on integrated production of plants and plant products and control over the integrated production