MADR Announces National Inspection Campaign "FITOS 2025"

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MADR) has announced that until April 13, 2025, phytosanitary inspectors from the county phytosanitary offices and the central structure of the National Phytosanitary Authority (ANF), together with personnel from the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police - Directorate for Weapons, Explosives, and Dangerous Substances, the General Directorate of the Bucharest Municipality Police, and County Police Inspectorates, through their weapons, explosives, and dangerous substances units, will conduct the nationwide joint inspection operation "FITOS 2025." Similar inspections have been carried out annually since 2022.

The primary objective of this initiative is to enhance the safety and health of citizens, prevent and combat criminal and administrative offenses related to the regulation of plant protection products, and safeguard the environment. This will be achieved by inspecting how operations involving plant protection products are conducted and assessing the conditions under which these operations take place within the jurisdiction of the economic operators concerned.

Statistical Overview At the national level, a total of 4,478 economic operators are registered and authorized to carry out activities involving plant protection products. Among them, 844 are registered, in accordance with the legislation, with territorial weapons, explosives, and dangerous substances units as operators handling plant protection products classified as highly toxic (T+) and toxic (T). Notably, within the framework of the "FITOS 2025" initiative, at least 50% of all registered/authorized operators nationwide are scheduled for inspection.

Key Objectives The objectives of this operation include preventing incidents that could compromise public safety, health, and environmental integrity, as well as mitigating the risk of theft of plant protection products. Additionally, the campaign aims to raise awareness among farmers regarding illegal or non-compliant activities involving plant protection products and the associated risks.

Through this inspection operation, authorities will also focus on identifying, investigating, and sanctioning any irregularities found in the handling of plant protection products and environmental protection regulations.

Furthermore, "FITOS 2025" seeks to optimize efforts in preventing and investigating offenses within this domain by fostering inter-institutional cooperation with the ANF. The campaign will also work toward identifying vulnerabilities within the sector to enhance regulatory compliance and enforcement.

Results from FITOS 2024 Regarding last year's operation, "FITOS 2024," a total of 2,225 economic operators conducting activities with plant protection products were inspected, representing 53.6% of all registered and authorized operators nationwide.