The FAO minimum requirements in this publication are based on existing international, European and national standards and other published references. The guidelines on standards consist of detailed specifications and requirements, supported by test procedures, for the major types of agricultural pesticide sprayers. The aim of these guidelines is to provide manufacturers and governments with practical and consistent quality assurance systems.

The FAO minimum requirements in this publication are based on existing international, European and national standards and other published references. The guidelines provide a practical aid to assist purchasing and other agencies to avoid buying or approving sprayers with quality and design limitations, which could compromise operator and environmental safety. Member countries should adopt them immediately, to begin to eliminate substandard and unsafe sprayers from national markets and ultimately from the international scene.

The guidelines in this document outline how governments can influence pesticide safety by controlling the quality of new pesticide application equipment manufactured in or imported into a country. They address government officials in plant protection, environmental and other concerned authorities. By incorporating into national legislation, a requirement for manufacturers and importers to declare that application equipment meets acceptable, international standards of safety and durability, or to set up national or regional testing and certification procedures, it should be possible to gradually reduce and ultimately to eliminate sub-standard application equipment from farms.

The guidelines on standards consist of detailed specifications and requirements, supported by test procedures to measure compliance with the FAO standard, for the major types of agricultural pesticide sprayers manufactured or used in FAO member countries. They reflect current manufacturing practice, other national and international standards and the practical reality in the field in member states. Their purpose is to provide manufacturers and governments with a practical and consistent quality assurance system.

These guidelines have been prepared to offer practical help and guidance to all those involved in using pesticides for food and fibre production as well as in Public Health programmes. The guidelines in this document cover the application of pesticides using aircraft, including the activities on the ground in support of the aerial application .

The guidelines in this document are addressing government officials in plant protection, environmental and other concerned authorities. They consider the training, testing and certification of those who actually operate pesticide application equipment. Even the most well-designed and maintained applicators can do immeasurable damage in the hands of an unskilled operator and the importance of this guideline should not be under-estimated.