Brazil’s National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA) announced on 7 October that it was extending the deadline for consumption of stocks of products containing the herbicide Paraquat, which are already in the possession of farmers.
This decision was taken at a regular meeting of Anvisa’s board of directors and is valid for the current 2020-2021 harvest.
The decision was made in response to a request made by the Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock of Brazil. According to Ricardo Arioli, President of the National Commission of Cereals, Fibers and Oilseeds of the CNA, the measure is relevant for the soybean producers to use the products they have already bought.
“Due to the high movements in the price of soybeans, as well as the devaluation of the Real against the dollar, the vast majority of producers made the advance purchase of inputs, including products containing the active ingredient Paraquat,” he said.
Through this decision, ANVISA will create a new Collegiate Board Resolution that will change the RCD 177/2017 where the definition of the new terms for the use of inventories in the 2020-2021 harvest will be included. The new deadlines will take into account the regional calendars of each of the cultures that have a record of the use of the active ingredient.
Lack of use could lead to unplanned financial losses for farmers, according to Arioli. “With the delay in soybean planting for the 2020-2021 harvest, the extension of the use of stocks is even more important in order not to affect the increase in production costs. There are still countless losses related to the reverse logistics of products and the possible conception of environmental responsibility “.
The decision still does not alter the resolution of the previous meeting, which took place on September 15, 2020, on the banning of the product. That is why only the deadline for using the stocks held by the farmers has been extended. The production, import and marketing of any type of Paraquat-based product is prohibited.
Image source: “Brasil” by ruifo is marked with CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
