The Institute for the Control of Agrochemicals, Ministry of Agriculture (ICAMA) was established in 1963 as an institution affiliated with the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA). ICAMA, as mandated by MOA, specializes in nation wide pesticide registration and administration with the main responsibilities for registration, quality control, bioassay and residue monitoring of pesticides, supervision of pesticide markets, information-sharing, international cooperation and other services. Presently, ICAMA is backed by a team of nearly 100 in-service personnel, of which 90% have received college education or above and of these 30% have associate senior professional titles or above; ICAMA has 4,000 m2 of labs, and advanced instruments and equipments for various tests on pesticides. It is designated as the national supervision and inspection center for pesticide quality and residue control, and has been awarded the title of “Advanced Institute for promoting an ideologically strengthened and cultural Development” at central government level.

    Since the establishment of ICAMA, particularly in the past three decades of reform and opening, under the wise leadership of the Party Committee of MOA, a lot of efforts have been made in pesticides administration as follows: drafting and facilitating the promulgation of the Regulation on the Control of Agrochemicals, which is the first of its kind in pesticide management, gradually perfecting the pesticides registration system that fits in China’s actual situation and complies with international practices, establishing pesticides control system and pesticide trial and testing system, training a large number of professionals in lab and administration, drafting of or involving in the development of national and industrial pesticide specifications that are tailored to the actual working requirements, research in pesticide testing methods and techniques, introduction and selection of a large number of new pesticide products, monitoring of pesticide residues in agricultural produce (or products) nation wide, and intensifying efforts in international cooperation and exchange in pesticides technologies and management. All these activities have made a positive contribution to improving pesticide management, regulating pesticides markets, promoting farm-product safety, ensuring bumper harvests, and conserving eco-environment.

    At present，pesticide administration is faced with emerging challenges and new tasks, i.e. a new stage for agricultural development, concern about farm-product safety, increasing demand for eco-environment protection and new requirements for pesticide control brought forward by China’s accession to the WTO. Under the new situation and tasks, in terms of guiding principles, pesticides administration has been transformed from emphasizing on quality management to focusing on both quality and safety management; while in terms of practical work, pesticide registration and stringent market access is still at the core, ICAMA has included in its priorities supervision of pesticide markets, guidance on pesticide application in a scientific manner and pesticides residue monitoring.

Source: ICAMA