The Department of Agriculture (DOA) deals with agricultural policy and food and feed safety in Cyprus. It prepares national legislation in the field of food of non-animal origin at the primary production stage, feed, plant health, marketing of seeds and plant propagating material, marketing standards for fruits and vegetables, eggs, poultry, meat, quality labelling and quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs. It is also responsible for the authorisation of plant protection products and the marketing and use of plant protection products.

It also shares responsibility for the cross-compliance legislation, including the protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agriculture sources.

The DOA is also in charge of the preparation of multi-annual national control programmes, which are based on risk analyses. In addition, it is responsible for implementing the annual national control programmes and their monitoring. It provides guidelines to inspectors as well as training as appropriate.

It is also a decision-making body and responsible for risk communication for the areas that fall within its purview.

The DOA has authorised six BCPs for the import of plants and plant products.

The DOA consists of regional offices and the following five laboratories that deal with controls related to food and feed safety and quality:

1. Pesticide Residues Laboratory is the National Reference Laboratory (NRL) for Pesticides Residues in Feed and the official laboratory for the analysis of pesticide residues in conventional agricultural products on the farmer level, for the control of good agriculture practices, as well as for any use of non-authorised plant protection products in accordance with the Plant Protection Products Law. The laboratory has been accredited in accordance with ISO 17025 since 2011.
2. Pesticide Formulations Laboratory is the official laboratory for the quality control of pesticide formulations in accordance with the Plant Protection Products Law. Although the lab is not accredited, it implements the same QA system as the accredited laboratories of the DOA.
3. Animal Feedstuffs and Fertilizers Quality Control Laboratory is the National Reference Laboratory (NRL) for all official controls in the area of feed and feed additives as well as fertilisers pursuant to the relevant legislation. The laboratory has been accredited in accordance with ISO 17025 since 2011.
4. Oenology Laboratory conducts chemical analyses of several vine and wine products within the scope of experimentation and market monitoring. The laboratory has been accredited in accordance with ISO 17025 since 2009.
5. Plant Protection Laboratory deals with the official testing for the diagnosis of harmful organisms (bacteria, fungi, nematodes, viruses and insects) for plants and plant products.