Chemisation of Agriculture in Selected Legal Acts

The article attempts to present an analysis of the status of the concept of chemisation in selected legal acts at the international, EU and national level, and to outline the legal problems related to chemisation in agriculture. The concept of agricultural chemisation belongs to a conceptual framework of other than law branches of empirical sciences, primarily chemistry, natural sciences and agrotechnics. There is no legal definition and it is dispersed in various legal acts, significantly affecting such areas as environmental protection, food safety, food security, protection of the interests of consumers and agricultural entrepreneurs. Due to the specifics of the study, a dogmatic method was used, which analyzed the research material consisting of selected, key provisions of international and EU law and acts of national law. In order to extend the issues and emphasize the issues that are the subject of the study, the method of content analysis and analysis of documents was used, thanks to which the topicality of the discussed issue and its significant importance from the social point of view were shown. The conducted analysis was aimed at showing and emphasizing the multifaceted and complex nature of the issue.


INTRODUCTION
Globalization processes in the agricultural sector and growing competition in agricultural markets impose the introduction and use of such production methods that intensify the speed and volume of production, regardless of the social and environmental effects they exert. One of the important factors determining the achievement of quick production effects is the widespread use of chemicals known as agriculture chemisation. The concept of agricultural chemisation most often appears in areas other than law, primarily in the area of chemistry, natural sciences and agrotechnics. It was transferred to the legal language due to the necessity to regulate the principles of safe use of agrotechnical treatments, allowing for the implementation of the principle of sustainable development, protection of ecosystems, ensuring food safety and consumer protection. This concept is still new and requires operationalization for the purposes of legislation and jurisprudence, as well as shaping the standards of responsible production and safe circulation of food by agricultural producers and consumer awareness.
The problems of admissibility and the extent to which chemistry can be used in practice require consideration in the process of both law-making and application. An important issue here is to balance the conflicting interests that may arise at the interface between the needs of environmental protection, biodiversity, climate and food security, aimed at quantitatively securing food supply and food safety, emphasizing the quality aspect of products. There is also a conflict between the protection of consumer interests, by providing the highest quality food at a reasonable price, and the interest of an agricultural entrepreneur focused on profitability.
So far, the problem of agricultural chemisation has not been the subject of legal analysis. Theoretical reasons focus on the answer to the question whether there are regulations in national, EU and international law that allow the separation of a coherent system creating a framework for formal management and monitoring of agricultural chemisation processes and determining the institutions established to perform such tasks. An important aspect is also the issue of a coherent system in this regard is still in the stage in statu nascendi or it is not yet possible to talk about such a system, and legal regulations regarding chemisation are created ad hoc, according to the emerging needs or the need to resolve conflicts.
Practical considerations consist mainly in reviewing and indicating the provisions regulating the chemisation of agriculture, as their dispersion constitutes a significant obstacle in their application by both agricultural producers and agricultural administration authorities. Moreover, the issues of implementing legal instruments to reduce the risk or the effects of excessive chemical treatment in agricultural activities are subject to continuous legislative work, which may be reflected in the recent changes in EU law, in particular, the adoption of new strategies: the European Biodiversity Strategy 1 and the Farm to Fork Strategy, 2 which additionally emphasizes the practical dimension of this study. The article is an attempt to initially define the normative area of research on the chemisation of agriculture.

THE CONCEPT OF CHEMISATION
Determining the scope of chemisation in legal terms is not easy. No legal act contains a legal definition of this term. Therefore, one should refer to dictionary meanings. According to the definition of the Dictionary of the Polish Language, chemisation is "the application of the achievements of chemistry in technology, industry and agriculture", and chemical treatment of agriculture is "a method of intensifying production, mainly of plants, by increasing the use of mineral fertilisers, plant protection products, etc.". 3 The cited definition is very general. For the purposes of legal analysis, it is necessary to further specify the concept, using the achievements of other fields of science, to systematize them, adopt selected, specific meanings, precisely indicate semantics and attempt a uniform interpretation of technical concepts, to the extent necessary for further analysis. The concept of chemisation has not been unequivocally operationalized in the language of law and legal language and is not used consistently. 4 It is not necessary to mention all the meanings of chemisation used here, because -despite some differences resulting mainly from the specificity of different fields of science -it is possible to indicate the determining features common to all definitions. Hence, for the purposes of further considerations, the concept of chemisation is adopted as a method of agricultural production intensification by increasing the consumption of agricultural chemicals. The general concept of agricultural chemisation covers two different issues: the use of artificial fertilisers and the use of plant and crop protection products, i.e. fungicides against fungi, insecticides against insects and herbicides against weeds. 5

THE GENESIS AND EVOLUTION OF CHEMISATION
The changing systems of the organization of agricultural production as a special sector of the economy determined the role of chemicalisation in agriculture in diametrically different ways. In Poland, both in the interwar period and throughout the entire period of the centralized economy, the policy in the field of agriculture focused on ensuring food security in terms of quantity. 6 Thus, the regulations on the efficiency of agricultural production in agricultural legislation dominated, which included, i.a., the obligation to perform certain agrotechnical operations, the order of pesticide application and the order of fertiliser application referred to as agrominimum. 7 After 1945, productivity growth was to be achieved by increasing the use of artificial fertilisers and pesticides.
Legal acts, starting with the Decree of the Polish Committee of National Liberation of 6 September 1944 on the implementation of the land reform 8 and the Decree of the Polish Committee of National Liberation of 30 March 1945 on compulsory management of agricultural land, 9 assumed the obligation to use productively areas that could potentially serve agricultural production. In the Act of 16 February 1961 on the protection of cultivated plants against diseases, pests and weeds, 10 measures were introduced in individual areas of plant protection. According to Article 10 of this Act, the concept of chemical plant protection products was defined as "all articles of synthetic and natural origin used to control diseases, pests and weeds or to prevent their appearance, as well as articles and preparations used simultaneously for these purposes and sanitary purposes". Resolution no. 347 of the Council of Ministers of 22 October 1963 on agrominimum, which recommended the introduction of specific agrotechnical and zootechnical measures in all individual farms, 11 entered into force. In the Act of 13 June 1967 on the obligation to use mineral fertilisers on farms, 12 Pobrane z czasopisma Studia Iuridica Lublinensia http://studiaiuridica.umcs.pl Data: 28/11/2021 17:49:03 U M C S a statutory obligation was introduced to use mineral fertilisation under penalty of a fine of 80% of unused fertilisers. 13 In addition to fertilisers, plant protection products were used. Initially, highly toxic agents were used, having a lethal effect on all microorganisms, in an uncontrolled manner and regardless of the resulting damage to the natural environment, the protection of which was reduced to a minimum level, subordinated to production considerations. 14 The government, by Resolution no. 64/70 of 18 May 1970 on the organization of research in the field of toxicology and safe use of pesticides and the control of their residues in food and human environment created the basis for the organization and commencement of systematic studies of pesticide residues throughout the country, organization of the system research for the registration of plant protection products and the development of new plant protection programs that are effective and safer for humans and the environment.
The impact of the excessive use of chemicals in the economy on the degradation of the natural environment was noticed only in the 1980s. Under the first Polish Act of 31 January 1980 on environmental protection and shaping the environment, 15 in Articles 13 to 15, the obligation of rational soil management, protection of the production value and other conditions necessary to maintain the natural balance was formulated. 16 In another legal act, i.e. the Act of 12 July 1995 on the protection of arable crops, 17 the legislator introduced rules concerning the method, scope and conditions of pesticide use. The Act regulated issues in the field of protection of crops against harmful organisms, prevention of the penetration of harmful organisms across the state border and the spread of these organisms in the country, prevention of threats to human and animal health and the environment that may arise as a result of trading and using plant protection products. Under this Act, the State Plant Protection Inspection was established.
In the Act of 3 February 1995 on the protection of agricultural and forest land 18 (Article 4 (16), Article 15 (5)), agricultural activity causing inappropriate use of pesticides was identified as one of the causes of land degradation and devastation. Another legal solution was the introduction of regulation of consumption fertilisers, in the Act of 26 July 2000 on fertilisers and fertilisation, 19 which was subject to many restrictions, both due to the risk it posed to human health and life and the need to protect the environment. As far as the scope of the subject matter of the Act is concerned, it regulated the grounds for placing fertilisers on the market in the unregulated scope in the regulations of the European Union, the tasks and properties of bodies and organizational units in the field of placing fertilisers on the market on the basis of the EU regulations on fertilisers, the use of fertilisers, preventing threats to humans and animals and the environment that may arise as a result of transport, storage and use fertilisers, agrochemical agriculture service.
Restrictions on the use of chemical agents were also included in the Act of 16 March 2001 on organic farming. 20 Under the aforementioned Act, the conditions for conducting agricultural production and agri-food processing with ecological methods as well as the control and certification system for this production and processing, as well as the marketing of organic farming products and their labeling were regulated. Basically, the admissibility of the use of artificial fertilisers and plant protection products was limited, and ecological production was to be carried out with the use of organic fertilisers, plant protection products and animal nutrition products obtained otherwise than by industrial chemical synthesis. The Act on organic farming has also adjusted the national law to the regulations that are in force in the European Union in this respect, i.e. Council Regulation (EEC) no. 2092/91 of 24 June 1991 on organic production of agricultural products and indications referring thereto on agricultural products and foodstuffs, 21 and Council Regulation (EC) no. 1804/1999 of 19 July 1999 supplementing Regulation (EEC) no. 2092/91 on organic production of agricultural products and indications referring thereto on agricultural products and foodstuffs to include livestock production, 22 to include organic livestock production. Another Act of 18 December 2003 on the protection of plants implemented EU Directives into Polish legislation, but also transferred the supervision of integrated production technologies to the State Plant Health and Seed Inspection Service. 23 Further changes have already been made taking into account the requirements of EU law and international obligations. There are indirect references to the concept of chemisation in international law, especially in the context of sustainable development. The result of the 1972 UN Stockholm Conference was the Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Natural Environment of Man, the so-called "Stockholm Declaration". 24 In 1987, a strategic document of the United Nations World Commission for Environment and Development "Our Common Future" was created. 25 As the Commission was chaired by the former Prime Minister of Norway, Gro Harlem Brundtland, this document is known as the "Brundtland Report". The report defined sustainable development as being in line with the needs of the present generations and not diminishing the ability of future generations to meet their potential needs. From the point of view of issues related to the shaping of the principles of chemisation, the Earth Summit organized by the United Nations in Rio de Janerio in 1992 was of significant importance. The Rio Declaration 26 contains 27 principles concerning development and environmental policy, in which, i.a., the anthropocentric nature of the concept of sustainable development was emphasized. During this Summit, the principles contained in the "Global Program of Action -Agenda 21" were adopted. These principles focus on the necessity of limited use of natural resources and the optimization of economic and social development in the context of respect for the natural environment. In Chapter 19 of Agenda 21 on "Environmentally sound management of toxic chemicals, including prevention of illegal international traffic in toxic and dangerous products", 27 measures aimed at reducing chemicals in agriculture were indicated. As part of the Convention on Biological Diversity, drawn up in Rio de Janeiro on 5 June 1992, 28 the principles of protection, multiplication and use of biological diversity resources in the context of chemisation were defined.
References to the issues of agricultural chemistry can be found in the Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade, drawn up in Rotterdam on 10 September 1998. 29 The purpose of the Convention is to promote efforts for mutual accountability and cooperation in the field of international trade in certain hazardous chemicals, aimed at protecting human health and the environment from potential hazards, and promoting their use in an environmentally safe manner, by facilitating the exchange of information on their properties, assistance in making national decisions about their import and export, and providing relevant information on the decisions made.
As part of Goal 15 of the Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 25 September 2015 "We transform our world", the importance of sustainable development was emphasized. The priority was the protection and promotion of the sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainable management of forests, stopping and reversing the process of soil degradation and halting the loss of biodiversity. In terms of creating guidelines and recommendations relating to agricultural chemisation, the role of specialized international organizations, such as the International Plant Protection Convention functioning at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Rome, the International Trade Organization and the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization (EPPO) should also be emphasized, and in terms of the maximum residues of plant protection products, the joint FAO and World Health Organization Commission. The initiative of EPPO was to develop the principles of Good Plant Protection Practice, while a group of experts appointed by the International Organization for Biological Control has developed guides and recommendations for Integrated Agricultural Production Technologies.

CHEMISATION IN EUROPEAN UNION LAW
In the context of the provisions of EU law, some of the first legal acts clearly raised the need to protect the natural environment and limit the spontaneous use of agricultural chemicals. 30 The Council Directive 91/414/EEC of 15 July 1991 concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market 31 indicated as the main objective the registration of all active substances used in the territory of EU countries in accordance with the new, more restrictive requirements concerning, i.a., the protection of the agricultural environment. In the Preamble, it was stated that "protection of human, animal and environmental health takes priority over improvement of the level of agricultural production". Reference should also be made to Directive 2009/128/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 establishing a framework for Community action to achieve the sustainable use of pesticides. 36 The Directive establishes a framework for achieving the sustainable use of pesticides by reducing the risks and impacts of pesticide use on human health and the environment, and by encouraging the use of IPM and alternative approaches and techniques such as non-chemical alternatives to pesticides. Regulation (EC)   The deliberations on the European regulations on agricultural chemisation should be supplemented with the issues of integrated pest management, which is one of the newest methods of monitoring biological threats and the use of agrochemistry. Integrated pest management is implemented under the common agricultural policy and comes down to weighing up all available plant protection methods, and then taking appropriate measures to stop the development of the population of harmful organisms and maintain the use of plant protection products and other forms of intervention at an economically and ecologically justified level, and the reduction or minimization of risks to human health and the environment. 39 Integrated protection recommends using biological, physical and other non-chemical methods in the first place, but they must provide satisfactory protection of the crop. The user should limit the use of pesticides and other forms of intervention to the necessary level, e.g., by reducing the doses, limiting the number of treatments or using divided doses. Integrated protection should prevent the development of resistance through the use of plant protection products from various chemical groups. Act, there are defined the procedures for placing fertilisers on the market in areas not regulated by the European Union regulations, tasks and properties of organs and organizational units, the use of fertilisers, the prevention of threats to humans and animals and the environment that may arise as a result of transport, storage and application of fertilisers. Article 2 (1) to (5) of the Fertilisers and Fertilisation Act defined the concept of fertiliser and its specific types. In addition, it includes, i.a., issues related to the approval of fertilisers, the upper limits of the doses of natural fertiliser used during the year, the need to apply evenly over the entire field surface, in a way that excludes fertilisation of fields and crops not intended for this, periods and methods of their use, prohibitions and exceptions. 44 rectives 79/117/EEC and 91/414/EEC (OJ L 309/1, 24.11.2009). Complementarily, it should also be indicated that the provisions of EU law also have a protective significance for the prohibition on the sale and use of products containing, i.a., neonicotinoids. The use of winter oilseed rape seeds treated with neonicotinoids creates, i.a., high danger to pollinating insects, including bees. The Act of 8 March 2013 on plant protection products regulates the tasks and competence of public administration bodies and organizational units in the implementation of EU regulations. In addition, it indicates the rules for placing plant protection products on the market, using, confirming the technical efficiency of the equipment intended for their use, conducting integrated plant production, conducting training in the field of plant protection products, collecting information on poisoning with plant protection products in the scope not specified in the provisions of Regulation no. 1107/2009 or in EU regulations issued on the basis of the provisions of this regulation. In terms of defining the concept of plant protection products and others, such as active substances, plants, the environment, the manufacturer refers to EU regulations, in particular Regulation no. 1107/2009. In addition, exemplary references related to issues related to the concept of chemisation are included in the Act of 2001 -Environmental Protection Law. 45 As part of this legal act, there are references to broadly understood issues relating to chemisation, e.g. in terms of defining the concept of environmental protection as taking or omitting actions, enabling the preservation or restoration of natural balance; this protection is to be based, in particular, on counteracting pollution (it should also be understood as those resulting from the use of agricultural chemicals). In Article 8 it was emphasized that policies, strategies, plans or programs concerning, in particular, agriculture should take into account the principles of environmental protection and sustainable development. For example, Article 101 indicates that the protection of the earth's surface should consist of rational management, which should also be translated into rational use of fertilisers and plant protection products. Article 127, referring to the protection of animals and plants, emphasizes the importance of preserving valuable ecosystems, biodiversity and maintaining natural balance, while maintaining the conditions for proper development and optimal performance by animals and vegetation of biological functions in the environment and preventing or limiting negative environmental impacts that could adversely affect the resources and condition of animals and plants. There are more such references in the aforementioned Act.
In the provisions of the Act of 20 July 2017 -Water Law, 46 the reference to the return of fertiliser/fertilisers occurs 118 times, defining, i.a., the term and indicating the types of fertilisers, methods of their use and storage. The Act also applies to the nitrogen fertilisation plan or the calculation of the maximum nitrogen doses, records of agrotechnical treatments related to it, as well as the requirements for fertilisation documentation. In the Act of 25 June 2009 on organic agriculture, 47 the use of synthetic plant protection products was generally prohibited, and protection U M C S is based on the selection of varieties, crop rotation, creating opportunities for the development of beneficial organisms and the use of biopreparations and natural agents. In Article 15 of the Act of 25 August 2006 on food safety and nutrition, 48 the maximum permissible levels of pesticide residues are indicated. Article 43 of the Act of 13 June 2013 on the management of packaging and packaging waste 49 contains an obligation for an entrepreneur selling plant protection products to receive packaging waste from users of these products, and Article 61 provides for criminal sanctions in the form of a fine for failure to return packaging waste to funds.

CONCLUSIONS
Chemisation is referenced in numerous legal acts and has a significant impact on a number of branches of law. Therefore, it seems so important to try to analyze the meaning of this concept and its references to, i.a., environmental issues, food and nutrition safety, consumer and agricultural producer.
There is a need for in-depth operationalization of the concept of chemisation itself and related terms in the legal field. Currently, the legal provisions relating to the concept of chemisation remain scattered in numerous legal acts and do not create a coherent system of protection against excessive chemisation, a system for monitoring agrochemical activities or a complete catalog of sanctions. Being aware of how many issues were beyond the conducted pilot analysis, it should be considered that the issues presented only as an example show the complexity, topicality and multifaceted nature of agricultural chemisation in legal terms.