Pilot survey of the use of plant health products on agricultural holdings in Spain 2000

The main aim of this action had been to assess the possibility of conducting a survey on the use of plant health products, first in a pilot province and then over the whole country. A first pilot survey had concentrated on the technical aspects of diseases, treatments, the application of active ingredients that affect production, the quality of the environment and a possible assessment of costs.A manual and questionnaire for field work had been drawn up with the help of the parties involved - i.e. farmers, enumerators and public plant-health authorities - and tested in four provinces with different crops (particularly fruit and vegetables) and production structures.In view of possible reluctance to provide data of this kind, there was also a publicity campaign aimed at ensuring that objective, reliable, verifiable and up-to-date information had been obtained.