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Codes of Good Agricultural Practices

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Codes of Good Agricultural Practices

The European Union publishes the Directive 91/676/EEC, of December 12, 1991, which includes what a should contain Code of Good Agricultural Practices (CBPA), and which obliges Member States to develop it to prevent diffuse pollution of surface and groundwater, caused mainly by nitrates of agricultural and livestock origin.

It establishes the criteria for the identification of vulnerable areas, the measures that a CBPA must include, both mandatory and complementary, the importance of carrying out, when necessary, a program to promote implementation, with training and information for farmers, maximum limits of nitrogen from manure per hectare per year that can be applied, preparation of action programs to be applied in the designated vulnerable areas and reports to be submitted to the European Commission.

At the national level, Spain publishes the Royal Decree 261/1996, Royal Decree 1/2016/2016 of February 16, on “protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources”, to transpose the aforementioned directive. It obliges the competent bodies of the Autonomous Communities to draw up their own Water Protection Codes (CBPA), which are voluntary for farmers outside vulnerable areas.

From this requirement, each Autonomous Community has been publishing its CBPA, with different criteria, obligations and complementary measures. https://observatorioregadio.gob.es/plataforma-de-conocimiento/documentos-y-estudios/buenas-practicas/

In addition, the European Commission's technical document is available, Recommendations for establishing Action Programs under Directive 91/676/EEC concerning the protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources, prepared by a consortium of experts led by Wageningen University. https://observatorioregadio.gob.es/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/250131_guia-de-enlaces.pdf

Despite this regulatory framework, water pollution continues to increase, and the European Commission initiated proceedings, which resulted in a judgment against Spain on March 14, 2024. In this context, Royal Decree 47/2022, of January 18, was published, repealing the previous decree and introducing new requirements.

Section 2 of Article 5 of the aforementioned royal decree establishes that the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA) “The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA) will publish a study of the current codes of good practice and their effectiveness. This study will be prepared in collaboration with the autonomous communities and river basin authorities involved in monitoring water quality, as referred to in Article 9. Based on the results of this study, MAPA will issue recommendations to the autonomous communities for the revision of these codes of good agricultural practice.”

Likewise, the MAPA in coordination with the Autonomous Communities, will develop a support plan for the implementation of the CBPA, including the best training and information for farmers and ranchers.

The responsibility for developing the new CBPA, which must meet current requirements, lies with the Autonomous Communities; this obligation, in turn, provides an opportunity to offer a space for the joint exchange of knowledge and experience.

At the second plenary meeting of the National Irrigation Board, On November 5, 2024, the meeting chaired by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA) and attended by members including all the Autonomous Communities, agreed to launch the CBPA Study Group.

This CBPA Study Group will have the support of MAPA's Observatory for the Sustainability of Irrigation (OSR), as a knowledge and technical support platform. To this end, a specific workspace has been created within the OSR, with restricted access for its members. https://observatorioregadio.gob.es/grupo-de-estudio-cbpa/

Given the powers of the Autonomous Communities, the CBPA Study Group will have with members of a competency-based nature. To this end, each will appoint a representative with a technical profile to participate in the technical working document until the generation of the final CBPA report.

In addition, the CBPA Study Group includes the participation of advisory members, To enrich this work with their contributions, with representation from farmers and the scientific and technical community, as well as from the Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge and from MAPA itself.

The OSR will draft a dynamic working document and manage the participatory process of collective construction with the members of the CBPA Study Group, culminating in a final report as a consensus-based technical framework for the CBPAs in the Autonomous Communities. This document will be based on a compilation of the current regional CBPAs, aiming to arrive at a series of recommendations tailored to Spanish agricultural conditions and systems.

The operation of this work will have two spaces. One, the one created in the OSR website This CBPA Study Group will be used to share the contributed materials and the technical development of the working document, and to manage the participatory process, both for members with expertise and those in advisory roles. The other group will operate through... meetings periodic meetings, in which all members will be invited to present progress reports.

The European Union publishes the Directive 91/676/EEC, dated December 12, 1991, a guide document of what a should contain Code of Good Agricultural Practices (CBPA), and which obliges Member States to develop it to prevent diffuse pollution of surface and groundwater, caused mainly by nitrates of agricultural and livestock origin.

It establishes the criteria for the identification of vulnerable areas, the issues that a CBPA must include, both mandatory and complementary, the importance of carrying out, when necessary, a program to promote implementation, with training and information for farmers, maximum limits of inputs that can be applied, preparation of action programs regarding the designated vulnerable areas and reports to be submitted to the European Union Commission.

At the national level, Spain publishes the Royal Decree 261/1996, of February 16, on “protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources”, which is a guide for the competent bodies of the Autonomous Communities to prepare their CBPA, which is voluntary for farmers.

Based on this requirement, each Autonomous Community has been publishing its CBPA, with different criteria, obligations, and complementary measures; the content of which is detailed below.

Despite this regulatory framework, surface and groundwater pollution continues to increase. And recently, Spain published the Royal Decree 47/2022, of January 18, which repeals the previous one, and provides new requirements; whose content is also included below.

Currently, the Autonomous Communities would develop new CBPA that meet current requirements, constituting in turn an opportunity for a joint exchange of knowledge and experience, which can support their development from the OSR.

On November 5, 2024, during the second plenary meeting of the National Irrigation Board, The members agreed to launch a study group on codes of good agricultural practices to prevent diffuse nitrate pollution in water.

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Guidelines for Codes of Good Agricultural Practice of the European Union

Council Directive of 12 December 1991 on the protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources (91/676/EEC) (published on 31 December 1991)

Guidelines for Codes of Good Agricultural Practices in Spain

Royal Decree 47/2022, of January 18, on the protection of waters against diffuse pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources (published on January 20, 2022)

Codes of Good Agricultural Practices by Autonomous Communities

Resolution of the Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries approving the Code of Good Agricultural Practices (published on April 2, 1997)
Decree 77/1997, of May 27, of the Government of Aragon, approving the Code of Good Agricultural Practices of the Autonomous Community of Aragon and designating certain areas as Vulnerable Zones to water pollution by nitrates from agricultural sources (published on June 11, 1997)
Decree 226/2005, of November 8, of the Government of Aragon, which modifies Decree 77/1997, of May 27, of the Government of Aragon, which approves the Code of Good Agricultural Practices (published on November 23, 2005)
Resolution of May 26, 1997, of the Ministry of Agriculture, approving the Code of Good Agricultural Practices (published on July 31, 1997)
Resolution of December 12, 1997, of the General Directorate of Agricultural Production, which makes public the Code of Good Agricultural Practices of Andalusia for the protection of water against pollution caused by nitrates of agricultural origin (published on December 12, 1997)
Resolution of 24 September 1998, of the General Directorate of Agricultural Production, which makes public the Code of Good Agricultural Practices of Castilla-La Mancha for the protection of water against pollution caused by nitrates of agricultural origin (published on 24 September 1998)
Order of 22 October 1998, of the Code of Good Agricultural Practices in relation to nitrogen (published on 09 November 1998)
Order of 24 November 1998, publishing the Code of Good Agricultural Practices in Extremadura (published on 10 December 1998)
Order of March 9, 2009 approving the Action Program applicable in the Vulnerable Zones to nitrate pollution from agricultural sources in Extremadura (published on March 19, 2009)
Decree 390/1998, of December 22, which establishes rules for the declaration of Vulnerable Zones to water pollution by nitrates from agricultural activity and approves the Code of Good Agricultural Practices of the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country (published on January 27, 1999)
Decree 112/2011, of June 7, approving the Code of Good Agricultural Practices applicable to the areas of the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country not declared as vulnerable to water pollution by nitrates from agricultural activity (published on June 20, 2011)
Resolution of February 4, 1999, of the General Directorate of Agriculture and Food, publishing the Code of Good Agricultural Practices (published on February 4, 1999)
Order of September 7, 1999 approving the Galician Code of Good Agricultural Practices (published on September 17, 1999)
Regional Order of November 22, 1999, from the Councillor of Agriculture, Livestock and Food, by which the approval of the Code of Good Agricultural Practices of Navarre is published (published on December 13, 1999)
Resolution No. 2,599/1999 making public the Code of Good Practices of La Rioja for the protection of water against pollution by nitrates of agricultural origin (published on December 23, 1999)
Order of 11 February 2000 approving the Code of Good Agricultural Practices of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands (published on 23 February 2000)
Order of the Ministry of Economy, Agriculture, Trade and Industry, of January 3, 2000, approving the Code of Good Agricultural Practices of the Balearic Islands (published on March 11, 2000)
Order 10/2018, of February 27, of the Ministry of Agriculture, Environment, Climate Change and Rural Development, on the use of nitrogenous fertilizers in agricultural holdings in the Valencian Community (published on March 7, 2018)
Law 1/2018, of February 7, on urgent measures to guarantee environmental sustainability in the Mar Menor environment (published on June 19, 2018)
Decree 5/2020, of June 25, designating the Vulnerable Zones to water pollution by nitrates from agricultural and livestock sources, and approving the Code of Good Agricultural Practices (published on June 30, 2020)
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