2,4-D ban would increase costs of Brazilian agriculture by 506.3%

“The substitution of 2,4-D on crops in which the herbicide is registered and used in Brazil would bring a cost increase of R$ 1,089,052,654.46 in average, which represents 506.3% more than what is used with 2,4-D herbicide for the management of weeds in those crops”.

The projection is from the book “Economic and Biological Aspects of the Use of 2,4-D Herbicides in Brazil”, which was launched on Sept 29^th, 2015. According to the authors, the agronomists Robinson Osipe and Jethro Osipe, who would pay the bill would be the Brazilian urban population, which would inevitably be affected by an increase on food prices.

The Brazilian Justice vehemently denied a request from the Federal Public Ministry to remove 2,4-D from the market, which is on the formula of 46 agrochemicals sold in the country. The Federal Judge observed that, not by coincidence, 2,4-D has registration in over 70 countries.

The book announces that it will bring data proving the safety, efficacy, and importance of the molecule to control weeds on crops such as soybeans, corn, sugarcane, wheat, rice and coffee in Brazil. However, one of the great points of the book is the comparison with other options for the control of weeds in crops in which the 2,4-D is registered. The conclusion is that the molecule is one of the cheapest herbicides among the most used herbicides in Brazil.

“We never had a study that revealed the real impact of this herbicide in the agriculture of our country. This book comes to fulfill this blank, bringing the readers the opportunity to learn not just the history of 2,4-D, but its real relevance to producers and all the society,” explains professor Robinson Osipe.

Another point highlighted by the publication, the researchers say, is the agronomic aspect of 2,4-D. They point out that the molecule becomes an important alternative in the management of weeds resistant to herbicides. “Relying on a mechanism of different actions of inhibitors of ALS and glyphosate, 2,4-D is crucial in the farmers fight against resistance,” concludes Osipe.