Argentina launches “Technical Observatory for Agrochemicals”

By Leonardo Gottems, Reporter for AgroPages

Javier Rodríguez (Minister of Agrarian Development) recently presented the guidelines for the formation of the “Technical Observatory for Agrochemicals.”

“Today, information and research are varied, and scientific organizations cannot find a place to deliver their results to platforms for dialogue and debate, which will be the function of the observatory,” he said.

“Any norm referring to the use of agrochemicals that, in the future, leaves this ministry must have a scientific-technical foundation that supports it, based on various research that are already being carried out by universities, INTA, Conicet and the Commission of Scientific Investigations (CIC),” Rodríguez added.

The Ministry of Agrarian Development also decided to suspend the validity of Resolution 246 for one year and called on public authorities in Buenos Aires to be part of a working table, which will coordinate the implementation and evaluation of relative public policies on the application of agrochemicals.

"This working table will deal with healthcare, the environment, and promoting production and water care, where definitions in the field of agrochemicals are based on information from public bodies," Rodríguez explained.

The Buenos Aires Ministry of Health, the Provincial Agency for Sustainable Development (OPDS) and the Water Authority (ADA) will participate in the working table.

The ministry also issued a resolution summoning national and provincial universities, the INTA, technical scientific research centers with a seat in the Province of Buenos Aires and the CIC to draft a “Technical Observatory of Agrochemicals,” which will be dedicated to linking production and the exchange of work and research related to the use of agrochemicals and their effects on health, the economy and the environment.

"The wording of this rule, in reference to the suspended 246, is somewhat particular, because when it seems that this is prohibiting what it is doing that is allowed. It is these discursive contradictions that we knew from the previous government. What norms are sustained, when analyzed in detail, are those that could be fumigated without any real or effective regulation or damping of any kind," he further added.

Liliana Monterroso (Dean of the Faculty of Agronomy of the National University of the Center) said, ”It is a very important initiative where all the voices of protagonists are heard. Together we can create good policies through thinking about the quality and safety of the foods consumed by Buenos Aires. The use of agrochemicals must be done in a safe and efficient manner based on accurate analyses and managed by professionals who are agronomists.”

Finally, Marcos Actis (Vice Chancellor of the National University of La Plata) said, “The minister’s plan is to address the issue as a decision shared with society, through scientific system, universities, research centers and producers, because the question is to find a long-term solution. It is considerable progress, because the resulting regulations will take into account all opinions.”