Action required by professional users of Plant Protection Products (Pesticides)
Deadline: Wednesday 22nd June 2022

DEFRA have very recently provided guidance for the users of professional pesticides to register their use, to comply with The Official Controls (Plant Protection Products) Regulations 2020.

This is a new requirement for users of PPPs in England, Scotland and Wales since Brexit occurred in 2020. Northern Ireland has created its own regulations but to achieve the same policy objectives.

These Regulations are however a continuation of the objectives laid out in the EU Official Controls Regulation (OCR) prior to Brexit which was established to provide an integrated and uniform approach to official controls across all aspects of the agri-food supply chain.

This includes food and feed safety, animal health and welfare and plant health.
It also covers animals and goods entering the UK.

According to Defra, the implementation of the 2020 Regulations will bring several benefits to Great Britain. They will enable Defra, the Scottish Government and the Welsh Government, working with the regulatory authorities, to understand how PPPs are being sold and used in Great Britain, to support businesses and organisations to be compliant with their legal obligations and to ensure PPPs are used sustainably and in accordance with the conditions of use.

Last year all distributors, importers and manufacturers of Plant Protection Products (PPPs) in Great Britain had to register under the same legislation.

What you need to do now:

Businesses, organisations or sole traders who use Plant Protection Products (PPPs) including adjuvants in Great Britain, are legally required to register basic details of their activities with DEFRA by 22nd June 2022.

Registration will be necessary if any of the following criteria apply to you:

• Use professional PPPs and / or adjuvants as part of work or business
• Have professional PPPs and / or adjuvants applied by a third party as part of your work or business in agriculture, horticulture, amenities or forestry.

(Users of amateur PPPs do not need to register)

The obligation to register includes every address where:

• Professional PPPs are stored
• Professional PPP records are kept
• Professional PPPs are applied, if on the business property such as land owned or rented

Other situations where registration will be necessary include:

• Businesses which apply professional PPPs as seed treatments
• Businesses which apply professional PPPs as a contracting service, even if the business has previously registered as a distributor

To register, please follow the link ot the GOV.UK website where further information, including a ‘how to’ guide can be found.