AgroPages-Brazil agricultural production and regulatory requirements: Why updates are so important?-Agricultural news

By Elaine Lopes da Silva, General Manager Leisor

Brazil is a country of continental dimensions, we have 8,547,864 km², with an essentially agricultural vocation, using about only 8% of our area for crop production, 22% pasture 5% urbanization and 65% of our area is preserved forests.

Brazil is one of the leading countries that gathers favorable soil and water conditions available to support sustainable productivity growth not only for domestic consumption, but also for export. In the last 40 years it has been able to transform traditional farming into a dynamic and competitive agriculture, sustained in science and technology. With the growing need to adapt to the global requirements of food security, bioenergy, climate change, green chemistry, rural development, international trade agreements, among others, the country signaled for the need for updating its regulatory framework, providing farmers with the most modern tools aligned with other agricultural countries.

According to the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade (MDIC), agribusiness is responsible for about 1/3 Brazilian Grow Domestic Product, an estimated value of 1 trillion reais. The CEPEA/2019 survey shows that the agricultural sector occupies 19.7% of the country's workforce, equivalent to 18,070,000 people employed in the first quarter since the year. Still, it represents 42% of exports, stimulated by the globalization of markets and a worldwide increase in food demand.

According to the FAO/UN, we will be up to 9 billion till 2050 and we have a big production challenge to feed this population, since we are in a country of tropical climate, extremely prone to production, but equally prone to Development of pest, diseases and weeds.

Brazil has a relevant position as a global player, since it is a major producer of grains, coffee, sugar cane and citrus, besides an important producer of animal protein. In 2020 Brazil should export about 38% of its agricultural production, double when compared to 16% exported in 2010.

For our production to grow on a scale, with quality, increasingly implementing integrated management with biological products and biostimulants, it is necessary that the tools used in agriculture are made available more quickly, privileging the use of more modern products, effective and lower doses, generic products with safer and more accessible formulations and also the increase in the supply of organic products.

The sanitary defense plant represents one of the main activities of the Brazilian agricultural sector, is extremely regulated, having its first legislation dated 1934, with update in 1989 when the Law 7809 was published, valid so far, that Has brought several advances in prioritizing the country's agricultural vocation, without losing sight of responsibility to include health and environmental assessments in a fair way, in addition to the agronomic evaluation to obtain the registration of agricultural pesticides.

The sector lives a moment of many reflections and regulatory updates are required. Considering the need for updating, ANVISA recently published several resolutions that, with implementation will bring to the country the safety and modernity in the toxicological evaluation of pesticides, with the necessary agility and predictability.

The newly published resolutions are as follows: RESOLUTION of the COLLEGIATE BOARD-RDC N º 294, OF 29 JULY 2019 (Criteria for evaluation and toxicological classification; opinion of technical analysis of the company (PATE), will be requested only for PT and PTE; annual product report (RAP); GHS classification; Studies required for toxicological evaluation of PF, we should present a study of volatility in addition to other physicochemical; Studies and data required phase II, required in vitro, in vivo studies and chromosomal damage study; Manufacturer's specification in the initial protocol).

RESOLUTION of the COLLEGIATE BOARD-RDC N º 295, OF JULY 29, 2019 (criteria for assessing the dietary risk resulting from human exposure to pesticide residues).

RESOLUTION of the COLLEGIATE BOARD-RDC N º 296, OF JULY 29, 2019 (Toxicological information for the elaboration of label and leaflet, table with the GHS classification for each study). NORMATIVE INSTRUCTION No. 34, OF JULY 29, 2019 (List of unauthorized components for the use of pesticides and the like, the components in this list cannot be used if they are above the concentration limit stipulated in the specification column).

It is undeniable the efforts of all the agents involved, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and supply (MAPA), the Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA), and the National Agency for Sanitary Surveillance (ANVISA) for the Updating of legislation without compromising the necessary security. However, after 30 years of publication of Law 7802/89, it is necessary not only the publication of new evaluation criteria individually, but also the improvement of the regulatory framework through a new Law, since there are countless advances in the Agriculture area in the country. For this reason the House of Deputies initiated the processing of a New Law (Project 6299) that proposes to amend the Law 7802/89, bringing necessary updates to the sector.

The Risk assessment of product and predictability in obtaining new tools will put our farmer in a position to continue competing equally with the other countries of the world, and we will surely meet the challenges that have been proposed to us for safe food production.

This article was initially published in AgroPages '2019 CRO & CRAO Manual' magazine. Download the PDF version of the magazine to read more articles.