Programmes
International Code of Conduct on the Distribution and Use of Pesticides

Revised Version adopted by the Hundred and Twenty-third Session of the FAO Council in November 2002

The International Code of Conduct on the Distribution and Use of Pesticides is the worldwide guidance document on pesticide management for all public and private entities engaged in, or associated with, the distribution and use of pesticides.  It was adopted for the first time in 1985 by the Twenty-fifth Session of the FAO Conference.  The Code is designed to provide standards of conduct and to serve as a point of reference in relation to sound pesticide management practices, in particular for government authorities and the pesticide industry. 

Following the adoption of the Rotterdam Convention in 1998 and in view of the changing international policy framework, as well as the persistence of certain pesticide management problems, particularly in developing countries, in 1999 FAO initiated the update and revision process of the Code. 
In November 2002, the Hundred and Twenty-third Session of the FAO Council (with the authorization of the Thirty-first Session of the FAO Conference) approved the revised version of the International Code of Conduct on the Distribution and Use of Pesticides by Council Resolution 1/123
 

Information relevant to the Code of Conduct

Pesticide Management Guidelines

The FAO Panel of Experts

Guiding Documents on Management of Pesticides

For Your Information

The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations wishes to encourage the dissemination of the material contained in this publication and welcomes applications for its reproduction and use. Such applications, with a statement of the purpose and extent of the reproduction, should be addressed to the Director, Publications Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Via delle Terme di Carcalla, 00100 Rome, Italy.