Brazil congressional committee supports aerial spraying of pesticides

The Brazil ‘s Environment and the Justice and Constitution of the House of Representatives Comittees will be the next to start the project analysis that suspends IBAMA’s act that suspended aerial spraying of pesticides on crops containing the active ingredients imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, clothianidinand, fipronil. This is a necessary step before the Plenary takes a vote in the House.
 
During recent Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development and Supply Committee endorsed the proposal that repeals the ban. The authors of the bill, Congressman Antonio Carlos Mendes Thame (PSDB-SP) and ReinaldoAzambuja (PSDB-RS), say there is no subsidies to prove the risks to the bees population, a factor that led IBAMA to prohibit the use of these products.
 
Currently 24% of applications made in Brazilian crops are by aerial means, estimates the National Union of Pesticide Industry (Sindag). The statement of July 19th, 2012 banned nationwide aerial spraying in cotton, rice, sugar cane, soybeans and wheat.
 
However after a series of debates between the entities of the production sector and the government, the Union decided to condition the aerial spraying, by publication of Normative Instruction in Diário Oficial da União, still in January this year. It was created a working group to reform legislation to the use of pesticides. This group expects to complete its work this semester, as the engineer Luis Pacheco already anticipated to the Agrodebate.
 
During the discussions the production sector showed fear due to the damage that could be generated by the non use of aerial spraying. Studies conducted by the Association of Corn and Soybeans Producers in Brazil (Aprosoja Brasil) showed that only in soybean crops the lack of pests control could cause losses of R$ 5.92 billion just in 2012/13 crop. By 2020 the amount can reach R$ 26.7 billion.
 
For the government, the measure was necessary to reduce risks to the survival of bees. Analyses conducted in the Southeast region of the country helped to make up the Federal Government’s decision.