Plant Protection Department
For its first ten years the Plant Protection and Quarantine Department had no fixed home: its first offices were at 2 Ngoc Ha, inside the Ministry of Agriculture compound.
Today's Plant Protection Department began as the Plant Protection and Quarantine Department, established on 5 October 1961 under Decree 152/CP of the Government Council.
1961–1970. Under the name Plant Protection and Quarantine Department, it was for a time merged into the Cultivation Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, then separated out again as the Plant Protection and Quarantine Department.
For its first ten years the department had no fixed home: its first offices were at 2 Ngoc Ha, inside the Ministry of Agriculture compound.
During the American bombing it was evacuated to Ha Tay, returning in 1969 to 135 Nam Dong street — today 149 Ho Dac Di, Dong Da district, Hanoi.
At first the department had only a few units supporting the director: field direction, plant quarantine, general affairs, and administration. To keep plant protection and quarantine work moving, regional plant protection stations and inter-provincial quarantine offices were set up in 1966: plant protection stations for the Northwest, Viet Bac, Northeast, Coastal and Zone 4 regions; quarantine offices in Hai Phong, Hanoi, Lao Cai, Lang Son and Zone 4. In the provinces, plant protection sat inside the cultivation office of each provincial agriculture bureau.
1971–1981. For a period the department was merged with the Plant Protection Research Institute, then separated again as the Plant Protection Department under the General Department of Crops.
1971–1975. With the country divided, the offices were evacuated to Tay Tuu (Tu Liem, Hanoi), returning in 1973 to 135 Nam Dong — today 149 Ho Dac Di, Dong Da district, Hanoi — where they have remained.
1976–1981. After reunification, the ministry gave the department responsibility for unified state management of plant protection nationwide. Quarantine stations were set up in Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City, along with plant protection stations for the central and southern regions.
1982–1991. The Plant Protection Regulation and the Plant Quarantine Regulation issued with Decree 214/CP by the Council of Ministers (14 July 1980) added duties: alongside state management of plant protection, quarantine and pesticides, the department took on fumigation services for imported and exported goods and the distribution and supply of plant protection and quarantine inputs (transferred from the General Agricultural Materials Corporation in 1985). The cultivation arm of the production department was merged in and the body was renamed the Department of Cultivation and Plant Protection.
1992–2002. The Ordinance on Plant Protection and Quarantine was promulgated in 1993 — the highest legal instrument the sector had had since its founding.
Under Government Decree 92/CP the specialist plant protection system was consolidated from central to local level. In 1992 the plant protection inputs company separated from the department, and the cultivation arm moved to the Department of Agricultural and Forestry Extension. In 1993 the fumigation company separated as well, and the body was renamed the Plant Protection Department, exercising specialist state management under the ordinance.
2003. Following Government Decree 86/2003/ND-CP of 7 August 2003 on the functions, duties, powers and structure of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the minister issued Decision 88/2003/BNN-QD of 4 September 2003 setting out the functions, duties, powers and structure of the Plant Protection Department.
2004. The department comprised seven divisions — plant protection, plant quarantine, pesticides, administration and personnel, planning (planning and international cooperation), finance, and inspection and legal affairs — plus a standing office in Ho Chi Minh City and 17 subordinate units.
On 30 July 2004 the ministry established the Second Post-Entry Plant Quarantine Centre, and the Plant Quarantine Analysis, Diagnosis and Testing Centre was renamed the Plant Quarantine Diagnosis Centre.
2008. Ministerial Decision 17/2008/BNN-QD of 28 January 2008 set the department's structure: the leadership, eight divisions (plant protection; plant quarantine; forest pest management; pesticide management; planning; finance; inspection; and the department office), a standing office in Ho Chi Minh City, and 18 subordinate units: 4 regional plant protection centres, 9 regional plant quarantine sub-departments, 2 post-entry plant quarantine centres, 1 plant quarantine diagnosis centre and 2 pesticide testing and trial centres.
2011. Decision 434/QD-BNN-TCCB of 10 March 2011 established the Food Safety and Environment Management Division within the department.
2012. Decision 697/QD-BNN-TCCB of 30 March 2012 established the Inspection and Legal Affairs Division.
2013. The President promulgated Law 41/2013/QH13 on Plant Protection and Quarantine. In 2014 the minister issued Decision 664/BNN-QD-TCCB of 4 April 2014 on the department's functions, duties, powers and structure: the leadership, 10 advisory units (plant protection; plant quarantine; forest pest management; food safety and environment management; inspection and legal affairs; pesticide management; planning; finance; the department office; and the southern representative office in Ho Chi Minh City); 9 subordinate agencies (regional plant quarantine sub-departments); and public service units comprising 4 regional plant protection centres, 2 post-entry plant quarantine centres, 1 plant quarantine diagnosis centre and 2 pesticide testing and trial centres.
2017. Ministerial Decision 928/BNN-QD-TCCB of 24 March 2017 set the structure as: the leadership, 10 advisory units (plant protection; plant quarantine; food safety and environment management; pesticides; fertiliser management; planning; finance; inspection and legal affairs; international cooperation and communications; and the department office, with a standing section in Ho Chi Minh City); 9 subordinate agencies (regional plant quarantine sub-departments); and public service units comprising 4 regional plant protection centres, 2 post-entry plant quarantine centres, 1 plant quarantine diagnosis centre, 2 pesticide testing and trial centres, and the National Fertilizer Testing Centre.
2024. The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development issued Decision 4188/BNN-QD-TCCB of 11 October 2023 on the functions, duties, powers and structure of the Plant Protection Department.