Argentina consumes 230 million liters of herbicides per year, says INTA

Argentina consumes 230 million liters of herbicides and 350 million liters of other agrochemicals per year, according to a recently released report by the Argentine INTA (National Institute of Agricultural Technology).

″Argentine agriculture cannot completely dispense with agrochemicals without jeopardizing the volume and quality of production,″ the report stated.

The research also highlighted that it was possible to ″increase productivity and profitability with less environmental impact, hand in hand with the gradual reduction of external inputs.″

Jorgelina Montoya, the coordinator of the structural project sustainable management of phytosanitary products and an expert at INTA, defended the role of agrochemicals. ″There are vast records that show that without the use of phytosanitary products, the losses in the hands of pests would be significant,″ she said.

″However, it is essential to seek an optimization in the use of phytosanitary products: to know the processes that define their environmental behavior, as well as the factors and technologies for the management of crops and pests and, therefore, in the management of phytosanitary products,″ Montoya added.

There are about 5,387 formulated products registered with SENASA (National Food Safety and Quality Service) for the Argentine market. Herbicides are the majority group, with 43%, followed by insecticides and fungicides, with 43%. The rest, such as acaricides, nematicides, molluscicides, growth regulators, etc., are at most 14%.

Luis Carrancio, Director of INTA in the province of Santa Fe, went a step further and recognized that ″agrochemicals are a necessary but risky tool″ and paid special attention to the ″need to use them correctly.″

Carolina Sasal, INTA specialist in Entre Ríos province, stressed, ″phytosanitary products are a tool, but not the only one.″

She highlighted the importance of ″considering other alternative and complementary management strategies such as the use of bio-inputs, rotations, mechanical controls and management of sowing times that allow for less use of chemical inputs.″

Eduardo Trumper, the coordinator of the phytosanitary program and INTA specialist for the province of Córdoba, acknowledged, ″the use of chemical inputs is a practice deeply rooted in current production systems and difficult to change, despite the existence of alternatives, such as agroecology,″ but that this is a "reach is limited" option.

″There are several production strategies available that must be considered before planting and allow reducing the use of inputs, such as the use of pest-resistant varieties. Furthermore, it is necessary to strengthen monitoring, the use of solid criteria for decision-making and, when justified, efficient and accurate applications,″ he added.

″There is a global trend of agricultural production in a transition towards a lower use of chemical synthesis inputs,″ Trumper assured.

The report, prepared by INTA specialists, proposes a comprehensive approach to phytosanitary products. It reviews the organization's contribution to developing strategies, technologies, and knowledge that collaborate with the management of pests and diseases of crops.

(Editing by Leonardo Gottems, reporter for AgroPages)