6 Brazilian companies obtain new seal of functionality for agricultural adjuvant products

Date:10-27-2021

The “Spraying Adjuvants” program granted six companies, with origins in Brazil and abroad, the first six certifications by the new Official Functionality Seal for Agricultural Adjuvants.

Issued by the Engineering and Automation Center (CEA) of the Agronomy Institute (IAC), the seal assures the reliability of agricultural adjuvants produced in the country. At an official ceremony, Agrocete, Apex Agro, Equilex Chemicals, Momentive Performance Materials, Thera Chemistry and Vittia received the certification.

“Adjuvantes da Pulverização” is a public-private initiative coordinated by CEA-IAC, an agency of the Secretariat of Agriculture and Supply of the State of São Paulo. In addition to increasing adherence to the seal of functionality, the program's goal is to develop standards that support an Official Certification System for these products. It is used in the preparation of syrup used in the application of agricultural pesticides. Unlike the latter, adjuvants do not require registration in the regulatory bodies of Brazilian agriculture.

During the event at the CEA-IAC headquarters in the city of Jundiaí, scientific researcher Hamilton Ramos, coordinator of the “Adjuvantes da Pulverização” program, highlighted the relevance of the positioning of the six companies benefiting from the seal. “The companies have shown transparency and commitment to agribusiness by submitting their product lines for analysis by the CEA-IAC laboratory over the past two years,” he said.

The General Director of IAC-SP, Marcos Landell, and representatives of the companies now holding the functionality seal also attended the meeting.

Marcos Aurélio Belle, an executive from Momentive Performance Materials, one of the officials in the adjuvant sector, highlighted the fact that the seal brings innovation to agribusiness. “Innovation thrives on disruption, and the IAC initiative has the potential to reshape the relationship between industry and producer, enabling more integration and collaboration. The certification should accelerate the development of technologies genuinely aligned with operational gains and low environmental impact,” Belle summed up.

In addition to Belle, executive José Roberto Pereira de Castro spoke on behalf of Grupo Vittia, one of the largest producers and distributors of agricultural inputs in the country today.

Cooperative and certification

Present among the primary agricultural cooperatives in the country, Coopercitrus signed an agreement at the event to encourage the certification of adjuvant functionality. Under the agreement, Coopercitrus will indicate the manufacturers of these products to evaluate them in the CEA laboratory. The cooperative also informed that it would sell only agricultural adjuvants recognized by the new functionality seal.

For agronomist Celso José da Silva, consultant and the person responsible for adjuvants at Coopercitrus, the partnership will result in practical technical recommendations for crop management, covering products, pests and diseases. "From Coopercitrus's side, the partnership will contribute to increasing the quality of production of our members, always the cooperative's main objective."

Hamilton Ramos, the coordinator of the “Spraying Adjuvants” program, revealed that the IAC Engineering Center proposed classifying the adjuvants by functionality for over twenty years. “The introduction of the seal and the adhesion to it by these companies, referenced in the country, open a technological mark for agriculture in São Paulo and Brazil,” the researcher and director of CEA-IAC said in conclusion.