Tanzania
Plant Protection Act
Chapter 133
- Published in Tanzania Government Gazette
- Commenced on 1 July 2001
- [This is the version of this document at 31 July 2002.]
- [Note: This legislation has been thoroughly revised and consolidated under the supervision of the Attorney General's Office, in compliance with the Laws Revision Act No. 7 of 1994, the Revised Laws and Annual Revision Act (Chapter 356 (R.L.)), and the Interpretation of Laws and General Clauses Act No. 30 of 1972. This version is up-to-date as at 31st July 2002.]
Part I – Preliminary provisions (ss 1—2)
1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Plant Protection Act.2. Interpretation
In this Act, unless the context requires otherwise—"analyst" means any person appointed as analyst under section 32 of this Act;"animal organism" means any animal organism regardless of the stage of existence the organism is in;"beneficial organism" means any organism including fungi, bacteria, viruses, virus like organisms, vertebrate or invertebrate animals, utilised specifically for the control of harmful organisms, pollination, production of commercially valuable products, or for other purposes beneficial to agricultural production;"conveyance" means any vessel, aircraft, train, truck, car, cart, cargo container, animal or other device whereby goods, soil or other things may be moved from one place to another;"disease" means any abnormal condition on a plant, communicable or believed to be communicable by the transfer of a causative agent or by the propagation of the affected plant which the Minister may by Order in the Gazette, declare to be a decease for the purposes of this Act."harmful organism" mean an animal, plant or micro-organism, in whatever state of development, which is injurious to plant or plant products and which the Minister may declare, by order, published in the Gazette to be a harmful organism. Viruses and similar pathogens shall be treated as equivalent to micro-organisms and diseases not caused by harmful organisms shall be treated as equivalent to harmful organisms;"infected area" means any area or place in which a harmful organism or disease exist and which has been declared by the Minister, by order published in the Gazette, to be an infected area for the purposes of this Act and the term "infested area" shall be construed accordingly;"infested" means harbouring or containment by a harmful organism and the term "infected" shall be construed accordingly;"inspector" means any inspector appointed under section 33 and 34 of this Act;"inspector-in-charge" means an inspector appointed by the Minister and assigned as an officer-in-charge at a quarantine station or post entry quarantine station or at any other place as the Minister deems necessary;"integrated pest management" means one or a combination of plant protection methods in which particular attention is paid to biological, bio-technological, plant breeding and other organic related measures, while limiting the use of chemical plant protection substances to the necessary minimum;"international phytosanitary certificate" means a phytosanitary certificate substantially in the form of the Model Phytosanitary Certificate annexed to the International Plant Protection Convention of 1951 as amended in 1979, and issued by or under the authority of a technically qualified and duly authorised officer and the term "certification" shall be construed accordingly;"Minister" means the Minister for the time being responsible for agriculture;"natural environment" shall include its components - soil, water, air, species or wild flora and wild fauna, as well as interaction between them;"outbreak pests" means harmful organisms to plants occurring in large numbers over large tracts of land, and in such magnitude that an individual or group of individual owners or occupiers, can not control or contain, or whose distribution is restricted in an area from where their spread can be contained or delayed, and whose delayed control due to the use of normal procedures or means can cause danger to the health of plants, man, animal and the natural balance, and, which the Minister may declare under section 6 of this Act, to be outbreak pests;"owner" in relation to land or premises includes the joint owner, part owner, lessee or occupier or the agent of an owner joint owner, part owner, lessee or occupier;"packaging" means any means by which plants or plant products, harmful organisms, beneficial organisms, goods or soil may be enclosed, covered, contained, supported or packed;"pest" means any form of plant or non-domesticated animal life or any pathogenic agent other than a beneficial organism or any other agent which can be injurious to plant or plant material or to beneficial organisms, and includes any weed;"plant" means any member of the vegetable kingdom and includes any part of the plant whether severed from the plant or not;"plant material" means products of plant or plant product which can be affected by, or can harbour, a pest;"plant products" means products of plant origin which have not been treated or processed using simple methods such as drying or crushing, and, parts or plants, including fruits and seeds which are not intended for cultivation;"plant protection equipment" means equipment and devices used or intended to be used for applying plant protection substances;"plant protection substances" shall be substances which are intended to—(a)protect plants against harmful organisms;(b)protect plants against non-parasitic impairments;(c)protect plants or plant products against animals, plant, or micro-organisms which are not harmful organisms;(d)influence the vital processes of plants without serving nutritive purposes;(e)inhibit the germination of plant products;(f)be added to the substances set out in subparagraphs (a) to (e) for the purposes of changing their properties or effects:Provided that, plant protection substances shall also be deemed to include those substances which are intended to kill plants or to clear areas of plant growth or to keep such areas clear of such growth and which do not come within the purview of subparagraphs (b) or (f) above, but shall not include water and fertilizers within the meaning of the Agricultural Imputs Acts;"plant resistance improver" means substances or material used to enhance the resistance of tolerance of plants against harmful organisms;"point of entry" means any seaport, airport, river or lake station, railway station, post office, transport terminal or border post, through which goods may enter Tanzania and which the Minister may declare to be a point of entry under section 14 of this Act;"post entry quarantine station" means a secured place for the holding of plants, plant products or beneficial organisms for observation, inspection, treatment, or research after having been imported into Tanzania;"prescribed" means prescribed by regulations made under this Act;"propagative material" means any living plant or part of the plant (including seed, corn, cutting, but or rhizome) used or intended for propagation;"quarantine" means the official confinement of plants and plant products, harmful organisms to plant, beneficial organisms, goods or soil being imported into or exported from, Tanzania, subject to phytosanitary regulations, for observation and research or for further inspection and/or testing;"quarantine station" means a place for the inspection, detention, treatment, reconsignment or destruction of plants or plant products, harmful organisms to plants, beneficial organisms, goods or soil being imported into or exported from, Tanzania;"register" means the register of plant protection substances, plant resistance improver and equipment maintained under section 16(e) of this Act and the terms "registrar" and "registration" shall be construed accordingly;"research institute" means an institute of a national standard to which the Minister may delegate his powers pursuant to section 32 of this Act;"soil" means any medium (including earth, water, composite or clay) which is capable of supporting plant life, or harbouring or transmitting harmful organisms to plants;"treatment" means any appropriate process (including the use of plant protection substances heat or low temperature) for ensuring the removal, sterilisation, or killing of harmful organisms to plants;"use before date" means the date, in the case of plant protection substances, plant resistance improver or equipment having limited keeping properties, after which the substance or equipment shall no longer be used;"weed" means any plant potentially injurious to agriculture which is declared by the Minister, by notice published in the Gazette, to be a weed for purposes of this Act.Part II – Plant protection (ss 3—15)
3. Reporting on and destruction of infectious articles
The Minister may make rules for the purposes of preventing and controlling attacks by or the spread of harmful organisms or diseases in Tanzania and, in particular and without prejudice to the generality of the power under this section, on all or any of the following matters—4. Duties of occupiers of land
5. Right of entry and destruction of infectious articles
6. Contingency measures for the containment of outbreak of pests
Where there is sufficient evidence and the Minister is satisfied that the agricultural crops in any part of Tanzania are in danger of damage by outbreak pests, he may, by order published in the Gazette, declare that in such area or areas as he shall specify, a state of danger to agricultural crops by specified outbreak pests exists and upon such declaration, and for so long as any such order remains in force, all regulations made under section 7, except such as may be expressly exempted by any such order, shall apply to such area or areas.7. Power to make special regulations
8. National quarantine measures, plant import and export control
9. Importation for research purposes
10. Conveyance
11. Packing material
No person shall introduce into Tanzania as packing material any hay, straw, rice husks, peat, chaff, or other substance likely to harbour or support harmful organisms.12. Plants, plant products, etc., in transit
13. Seizure of illegally imported plants
14. Declaration of points of entry and quarantine stations
The Minister may, from time to time, by notice published in the Gazette—15. Export of plants, plant products, etc.
Part III – Plant protection substances and plant resistance improvers (ss 16—29)
16. Regulations on plant protection substances, plant resistance improvers and register
Minister shall, to the extent that it is necessary to the protection of human and animal health or for averting dangers, particularly where the natural environment is concerned, issue regulations to prohibit, limit or make subject to the obtaining of a prescribing permit or to notification requirements—17. Application for the registration of plant protection substances
18. Registration and publication of list of plant protection substances
19. Manufacturing, importation, or sale, etc., of unregistered plant protection substances
20. Labelling of registered plant protection substances
21. Taking and submission of plant protection substance sample for analysis
22. Division and analysis of sample
23. Procurement of sample
Where any person procures a sample under subsection (1) of section 22 and the division into parts of such sample—24. Giving false information in connection with manufacturing, importation or sale of plant protection substance and offences
Any person who, knowingly makes any false statement, issues or maintains any false or misleading declaration, document, marking or description of a plant protection substance in connection with manufacturing, importation or sale of plant protection substance or any substance, capable of being used in the manufacturing of plant protection substances, shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine of not less than ten million shillings but not exceeding one hundred million shillings or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or to both such fine and such imprisonment.25. Power of the court
A court convicting a person of any offence under this Part may order that—26. Evidence
In any proceedings under this Part—27. Handling and use of plant protection substances according to good professional practice and plant resistance improvers
28. Plant resistance improvers
Plant resistance improvers shall only be used if—29. Plant protection equipment
Part IV – Assignment of duties and appointment of officers (ss 30—38)
30. Assignment of duties and appointment of officers
31. Establishment of the National Plant Protection Advisory Committee and its functions
32. Research Institute
33. Appointment of inspectors
The Minister shall appoint, from time to time, by notice published in the Gazette, such inspectors as may be necessary for the purposes of this Act.34. Powers of inspectors
35. Obstruction
36. Duties of other officials
37. Duties to the public, reporting of imported plant, plant products, etc.
A person who receives any plant, plant product, beneficial organism, harmful organism, plant protection substance, plant resistance improver, soil or any other material or substance, plant resistance improver, soil or any other material or substance to which this Act applies, from outside Tanzania shall, on receipt, notify an inspector, and shall carry out at his own expense and to the satisfaction of the inspector such directions as the inspector may give as to its inspection, treatment, destruction, or any other means of disposal.38. Charges for administrative expenses
Part V – Offences and penalties (ss 39—41)
39. Criminal liability of bodies corporate and their officers
40. Costs of treatment, etc.
If any person, by failing to comply with this Act or acting contrary to this Act, causes an inspector to incur an expense that would not otherwise have been incurred, that person shall pay to the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania the full amount of that expense reasonably incurred, and that amount shall be recoverable from him as a debt to the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania.41. Losses, expenses, etc.
For the avoidance of doubt, it is hereby declared that—Part VI – Miscellaneous provisions (ss 42—43)
42. General regulations
43. Repeals, amendment and savings
History of this document
31 July 2002 this version
Consolidation
01 July 2001
Commenced
Subsidiary legislation
Title | Numbered title |
---|---|
Plant Protection (Control of Uganda Strain of Cassava Mosaic Disease) Rules, 1999 | Government Notice 19 of 1999 |
Cited documents 2
Legislation 2
1. | Private Health Laboratories (Regulation) Act | 3 citations |
2. | Tropical Pesticides Research Institute Act | 1 citation |