Training for you who sell plant protection products

Innehållsförteckning:

Everyone who distributes or sells plant protection products must have taken a training and obtained a certificate for this purpose. The training is given by the Country Administrative Board in accordance with a syllabus decided by the Swedish Chemicals Agency. The training is coordinated with the Swedish Board of Agriculture's training for users of plant protection products.

If you distribute or sell plant protection products you must have taken the training and obtained a certificate in order to distribute and sell plant protection products. This applies to all actors in a supply chain and also when selling through e-commerce. The certificate must be renewed no later than every fifth course season.

At least one certified person must be available at the time of sale of a plant protection product. The person must be able to give customers information about how the product is to be used, the potential hazards to health and the environment, and how the product must be handled in order to reduce the risks. The person holding the certificate does not need to be present in person but may instead be available over the phone at the time of sale.

The training is coordinated with, and is the same as the Swedish Board of Agriculture´s training on the use of plant protection products outdoors, or inside and around greenhouses. Distributors who have taken any of these two trainings on the use of plant protection products, and who have got a valid certificate, are fulfilling the requirement for selling and distributing. To keep a certificate valid it must be renewed by a continuation course in either outdoor use or use in and around greenhouses.

This training requirement is stated in the EU Directive on the sustainable use of pesticides and has been implemented into Swedish legislation, i.e. the Swedish Pesticides Ordinance and in the Swedish Chemicals Agency’s Pesticides Regulations.

Application

You apply to the courses on the website of the Swedish Board of Agriculture. To obtain a valid certificate for distributing and selling plant protections products you shall take a four-days basic course on the outdoor use or on the use in and around greenhouses. To renew a certificate you shall take any of the continuation courses on use outdoors or in and around greenhouses.

Apply to the course on the Swedish Board of Agriculture website External link.

If you have questions or would like more information, please contact the respective County Administrative Board running the course you are interested in.

Syllabuses for the basic and intermediate courses on the outdoor and greenhouse use of plant protection products (in Swedish, PDF 251 kB) , 252.9 kB.

Read more in the rules

The Pesticides Ordinance (2014:425) (in Swedish) External link.

The Swedish Chemicals Agency Pesticides Regulations (KIFS 2022:3) (in Swedish)

The EU Directive on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides (Directive 2009/128/EC) External link.

Last published 13 June 2023