Basic Information
The body of the State Plant Health Protection and Seed Inspection Service (hereinafter referred to as “SPHPSIS”) is the Chief Inspector of Plant Health and Seed Inspection, acting with the assistance of the Main Inspectorate of Plant Health and Seed Inspection.
SPPSI reports to the minister responsible for agriculture.
The Inspection continues a long tradition of plant protection and seed production in Poland.
In its current organisational form, it was created in 2002 from a merger of two inspection services: Plant Protection Inspection and Seed Inspection. SPPSI’s tasks are defined under the Protection of Plants against Pests Act, the Seed Act, the Plant Protection Products Act, and the State Plant Protection and Seed Inspection Act. SPPSI aims at reducing the threat from harmful organisms, eliminating hazards linked with use of plant protection products and fertilisers, and production of seed that fully meets health and quality requirements.
The Inspection’s goals and the scope of its responsibilities are set out in the national agricultural policy and guidelines of the Chief Inspector. The Inspection's tasks and objectives are achieved in a variety of ways, including by inspections and diagnostics, which form the Inspection's core business, as well as by extensive educational activities aimed at increasing knowledge of plant protection and seed production among growers and agriculture sector businesses.
European Union membership poses numerous challenges for the Inspection, including the need for closer cooperation and experience sharing with other European countries’ phytosanitary, seed, and food safety authorities, as well as for responding to economic changes, trends in international trade and in the environment.
An important guidance for changes in the Inspection is provided by the SPPSI Development Strategy 2022-2027 developed under the FITOEXPORT project. This is, on the one hand, a continuation strategy based on the continued implementation of statutory tasks based on experience accumulated in day-to-day work. On the other hand, it is a creative development strategy for the so-called “learning organisation” that modifies and improves itself based on its experience. In its mission statement SPPSI aims to “support Poland’s economy and consumer safety”, and its vision is to be “a prosperous, efficient, self-improving organisation that is able to use the potential of its decentralised structure and openness to its environment. An organisation with a positive public image and effectiveness and objectivity as its advantages”. Considering the above, what emerges is an image of an organisation firmly rooted in tradition, but able to draw on modern practices, and unafraid of change or innovative solutions - all in the service of the society.