Brazil has new rules for pesticide registration

The Brazilian government has published two new regulations that establish new rules for the registration of agricultural pesticides. The regulations are signed by the three entities responsible for the approval of technologies: the Ministry of Agriculture, Anvisa (National Health Surveillance Agency), and Ibama (Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources). According to Brazilian authorities, the goal of the new regulation is to "expedite the approval process for these products."

The first ordinance (No. 02/2023) establishes guidelines for changes to the registration of agricultural pesticides, regarding the inclusion or exclusion of registered Technical Products or Pre-Mixtures, formulators, handler, and packaging. The norm aims to streamline administrative procedures and available human resources, directing them to evaluations that require technical analysis.

"Currently, over 70% of the registration change requests made by registering companies fall into the types of claims contained in the norm, which have low toxicological, environmental, or agronomic impact and, therefore, are subject to procedural simplifications," highlights the Secretary of Agricultural Defense, Carlos Goulart. With the publication of the norm, a reduction in time for these change requests is expected, as they are based solely on documentary verification.

The second ordinance, No. 03/2023, establishes specific procedures for the distribution of pending processes for the registration of equivalent technical products, pre-mixtures, and formulated agricultural pesticides, to comply with Article 3 of Decree No. 10,833/2021, which stipulates that processes filed before October 2021 would have a deadline of 4 years for analysis.

"For the legal compliance of deadlines, it was necessary to establish specific procedures for the distribution of processes for technical analysis, avoiding constant litigation in the registration processes," explains Goulart. It is estimated that currently around 1,400 processes filed before October 2021 are awaiting analysis completion. Of these, about 800 are "clone" products, identical to others already registered or in the process of registration, which could have undergone a simplified reevaluation since they have already been assessed.

There are also several products with the same active ingredient, whose joint analysis by the same technician can be optimized. "The current legislation only allows analysis in chronological order of protocol," notes the secretary. According to the government, expanding the availability of agricultural pesticides through faster product registration allows for greater competitiveness in the market and more pest control options for farmers.

With increased competition, the price of agricultural pesticides decreases, and this economic benefit is passed on to consumers of treated agricultural products. "There is no talk of indiscriminate use of agricultural pesticides due to the increased availability of these products, as they still depend on technical analysis and prescription by a legally qualified professional," emphasizes Goulart.

According to the government, all registered products will continue to be analyzed and approved by the entities responsible for health, the environment, and agriculture, according to scientific criteria and in line with international best practices.

(Editing by Leonardo Gottems, reporter for AgroPages)

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