The Federation Council is preparing laws on strict accountability for violations in the field of pesticide use.

At the beginning of the autumn session, the Federation Council plans to present a series of draft laws that will tighten responsibility for violations in the field of production, import, sale, and use of pesticides and agrochemicals. This was announced by the deputy chairman of the Federation Council committee on agrarian and food policy and environmental management, Sergey Mitin, at a press conference.

Alexander Dvoynykh, the head of the committee, explained that they have a task from the Federation Council chairperson Valentina Matviyenko to regulate this issue legislatively. The Doctrine of Food Security has set quantitative goals that have already been achieved, and the export potential is also at a good level, so the committee plans to focus on the quality of production. They want Russian products to be synonymous with environmentally friendly, high-quality, reliable products both in the domestic and global markets. They are also concerned about the mass death of birds and animals in regions caused by the use of banned pesticides and agrochemicals, and, more importantly, how this can affect citizens' health.

Sergey Mitin pointed out that the basic law on the safe handling of pesticides and agrochemicals was adopted in 1997, and today's requirements differ from those that were relevant in the past century. He explained that existing legislation often does not correspond to the scale of harm to the environment and the health of citizens caused by pesticides and agrochemicals, so they propose to tighten responsibility measures. In addition, they want to make changes to the main law to check the content of pesticides not only in the final product but also during its production process.

Mitin emphasized, "We will not check every apple, every portion of milk, or every ton of wheat produced here. This is the responsibility of the producer who provides a quality declaration for the product on the market. Our task is to control the land on which this production is grown." The senator stressed the need to control the quantity and rules of pesticide use, as well as the correctness of importing foreign products. The Commission to Combat Illegal Circulation of Industrial Products has already approved this initiative.

In April, the State Duma considered a bill to increase fines for violations in the field of handling pesticides and agrochemicals. This bill was presented by the Tyumen Regional Duma in early March and received a positive response from the federal government. According to this document, the maximum fine for companies violating the rules of pesticide handling was to be increased by 4.5 times to 450,000 rubles. The State Duma's Committee on Agrarian Issues, which is a co-executor of this bill, decided that its adoption in the first reading was premature. In their opinion, existing norms and rules in the agricultural sector sufficiently regulate pesticide safety issues. They pointed out the lack of data on a significant increase in administrative violations in this area, indicating the inefficiency of the existing administrative punishment. On May 20, the State Duma Council decided to postpone the consideration of this bill.