Context
Since 1995, the CRA-W provides achievement and organization in the obligatory control of the agricultural sprayers for both the French speaking and German speaking parts of Belgium.This periodical technical control (every 3 years) has enabled a significant improvement of the application material used for plant protection products. Each year, two permanents control teams check the operating conditions of more than 2000 sprayers following a method and protocol developed by the CRA-W itself.
Belgium is considered as a precursor in the subject. The Belgian example is taken as reference at a European level (Framework Directive on the sustainable use of pesticides, CEN, ISO….).
Until now, two operators (CRA-W in Gembloux and ILVO in Merelbeke) were designed by ministerial order to assume the sprayer’s control for the whole national territory, under the AFSCA regulation.
From the 1st January 2011, the rules for the attribution of the obligatory control are going to be slightly modified. The control will be done by anybody recognised and certified by the federal Minister having the Agriculture in his skills, based on series of criteria (capacity, localisation, impartiality…) including the possession of the ISO 17020 accreditation. This reference is specifically intended to inspection bodies.
Objectives
The ultimate goal is to get the accreditation and maintain it, to continue to ensure the sprayer’s obligatory control for both the French speaking and German speaking parts of Belgium.This accreditation should result in greater efficiency of the sprayer’s inspection service and a promotion of the confidence that it is granted.
Description of tasks
- Adaptation of the inspection service’s actions into procedures- Implementation of a registration and traceability system of the inspection service’s results and actions
- Coherent integration in the CRA-W’s existing quality system
- Upgrading of the existing equipments and installations, purchases
- Implementation and monitoring of the quality system, training of staff
- Implementation of the soft program “Pulvé2007” for better IT management of the database
- Transition of the old database in the quality system
- Reply to the accreditation’s phases of the Belgium body for accreditation, BELAC (deliverables, audits…)
CRAW off coordinator
CRA-W, Département Productions et filières - Unité machinisme et infrastructures agricoles - Bruno HuyghebaertFunding
- CRA-W - Walloon Agricultural Research Centre
