Instruments and obligations for regulating good agricultural practice - the case of documentation of pesticide use

Abstract

Record-keeping of factor inputs is a key factor for farm controlling. In recent years many regulations have been introduced to establish compulsory documentation requirements, even within guidelines of good agricultural practice. Highlighting documentations of pesticide use, this paper gives an overview on the current legal and practical situation in Germany. Despite a large number of regulations, certainty about required modalities of record-keeping is low. A legal specification is upcoming. An aspect which is of greater importance than legal environment is the demand made by traders and related industry for traceability. The situation is discussed in the light of the current scope of farmers' documentation.