Inspection of pesticide application equipment by inspectors from other EES Countries

Directive 2009/128/EC on sustainable use of pesticides requires that pesticide application equipment in use must be approved.

In Sweden, it is the Swedish Board of Agriculture that approves pesticide application equipment. The test is carried out by an authorized inspector and the test report has to be submitted together with the application when the owner of the spraying equipment applies for approval.

To become an authorized inspector in Sweden you need to be certified for use of plant protection products in Sweden. You can find more information about training courses on the use of plant protection products here.

If you are legally established and hold a certificate from another EEA country or Switzerland to use plant protection products, your qualifications can be recognized here. The application can be found here. External link.

If you wish to inspect pesticide application equipment in Sweden you need to notify the Swedish Board of Agriculture first. The notification shall contain the following information. Name, address, company name, phone number and email. This can be done electronically here. External link. (in Swedish)

When you have had your qualifications approved and the notification has been acknowledged by the Swedish Board of Agriculture you are registered as an inspector. You will gain access to Swedish testing protocols and stickers.

Inspectors can give their consent to have their contact details listed on the website of the Board of Agriculture together with other details such as if they are specialized on a specific sprayer brand. You will find a list of Inspectors here. External link. (in Swedish)

Inspection are required to be performed according to SS-EN ISO 16122:2015 agricultural and forestry machinery – Control of equipment in operation or an equivalent method. For the time being it is also allowed to use the earlier standard EN 13790 as an equivalent method for inspection.

Requirements on the documentation of an inspection

Inspectors of pesticide application equipment in use is required to document the result of the inspection in a test protocol. Protocols shall, unless the inspector and spray owner agree otherwise, be delivered in an electronic format to the owner of the sprayer.

The test protocol has to include the following information:

1. The type of equipment.
2. The manufacturer of the equipment, serial number and year of manufacture or a note if this information it is not possible to identify.
3. The method used to assess the distribution equipment, for example by reference to a certain standard.
4. The elements listed in annex II of the sustainable use directive and, for each part of the application equipment, indication of whether the requirements are met, not met or not applicable. Reasons for stating that an element is not applicable can be that the type of application equipment lacks that specific part and if the requirements laid down in annex II, first and second subparagraphs are still fulfilled.
5. The result of the test summary stating if the equipment has passed the test (no errors) or not (disqualifying errors).
6. The number of the sticker that has been attached to the application equipment.
7. The name, postal address and telephone number of the owner of the sprayer and the inspector.
8. Date of the inspection.
9. The inspector's signature.

If you inspect sprayers in Sweden, use Swedish stickers. The sticker shall be placed on the sprayer by the inspector when the inspection is completed. Do not place the sticker on top of another sticker less than 6 years old. The number on the inspection sticker shall correspond to the number on the protocol.

Sprayers inspected in other EES countries or Turkey

A sprayer that is inspected and approved in another EES-Country or Turkey may be accepted in Sweden. The conditions are that the inspection has been carried out by an authorized inspector and in accordance with the harmonized standards or a method corresponding to these. The owner of the sprayer can then apply for an approval by appending the protocol to his or her application of approval.

The application for sprayer approval is found here. External link. (in Swedish)