Club of bologna proceedings

2.2 Generalities 
All the test mentioned above are non-
compulsory. They are carried out on request, 
and anyone may apply for the testing. 
Generally speaking, however, the application 
is submitted by the manufacturer or, in the 
case of an imported product, by its dealer. 
Applications are accepted at any time, except 
for field tests and those subject to restrictions 
imposed by the crop and the season. The 
actual costs are borne by the applicant. In this 
case, “actual costs” means the total of all the 
expenses incurred to carry out the test, and 
includes honoraria, payroll, travel expenses, 
expendables, transportation expenses, etc.
A machine entered for testing must represent 
the production model, excluding the 
prototypes and components/parts of Group 2 
tests. Therefore, the test is carried out on a 
single unit which represents the entire series 
of the same machine, and the test results and 
model approval are valid for all machines that 
are identical to the model tested. The test 
results are made public by the Ministry of 
Agriculture, forestry and Fisheries, with the 
exception of the “confidential” group 2 tests. 
2.3 National Test 
Objective
- The National test not only has the 
purpose of suppressing sales of poor quality 
products through the adoption of an 
approval/rejection system, but also promotes 
the objectives set out below by clarifying the 
performance and characteristics of machines 
through the execution of the test: 
•
to provide farmers with information 
related to the appropriate selection and 
purchasing of machinery, as well as to its 
safe and efficient use; 
•
to assist manufacturers in the 
improvement and development of 
machinery. 
Types of machines covered by the test
- The 
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and 
Fisheries determines which types of 
machinery are to be tested in each fiscal year, 
and this information is published in the 
Official Government Gazette. The status of 
agricultural mechanisation, the importance of 
each machine type and its degree of diffusion 
are taken into consideration when determining 
the types of machinery (
Table 3
). 
Test procedures
- The tests are carried out in 
conformity with test codes defined for each 
type of machine by the Ministry of 
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and the 
tests comprehensively evaluate the 
performance, construction, durability, ease of 
handling, safety and other relevant aspects, 
through laboratory and/or field tests.