About us
The Service Plant protection and Fertilising products is part of the Federal Public Service Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment, namely the Directorate General Animals, Plants and Food (DGAPF). Here you can find our contact information and organigram.
We are responsible for the federal policy concerning the authorisation of plant protection products and fertilizers in Belgium. For example, there are both general and specific measures to protect people’s health and the environment. These measures are applicable to all products and are established in the law. They entail mainly conditions for the commercialization of products by the manufacturers.
Most fertilisers can be freely placed on the market if they comply with Belgian and European legislation. All other fertilisers and plant protection products may only be marketed if they have specific authorisation. This authorisation can be granted only after a thorough evaluation of an application file.
Below you can find an overview of our activities.
Plant protection products
The analysis of application files and studies concerning plant protection products, in order to assess whether they should be allowed on the Belgian market according to the current federal and European laws, encompasses the majority of our activities.
Phytolicense
Every professional user and seller of plant protection products must have a permit, also known as a phyto licence. We are responsible for granting these permits.
Fertilising products
We evaluate the added value of fertilisers for agriculture and their effects on public health and crops.
Reduction plan
For all authorised plant protection products, we are developing additional general measures to further limit possible risks. To this end, we are developing the Federal Plan for the Reduction of Plant Protection Products and coordinating the National Action Plan for Pesticide Reduction (NAPAN).
Funding
An application for an authorization for the placement of Plant Protection Products on the market need to be submitted by the companies and need to contain relevant scientific studies. These studies are commissioned (and therefore financed) by the companies. A fee is charged for the evaluation of the studies and the processing of the application. For plant protection products, a fee is also charged for the quantities sold each year. The amounts collected are paid into a segregated fund that we manage.