Brazil’s MAPA and Brazil’s National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) published a joint policy instruction that defines procedures for monitoring and inspecting the use and collection of remaining stocks of products based on the active ingredient, paraquat, held by Brazilian farmers for the 2020/2021 agricultural harvest.
The registration of all parameter-based technical products will be cancelled from the date of publication of the instruction. The registration of formulated products will be cancelled as of July 31, 2021. Technical products are used by the industry for the formulation of pesticides, while formulated products are those that are ready for use.
As of September 22nd, the importation, production and commercialization of technical and formulated products based on the active ingredient paraquat was prohibited. In addition, the use of related products has also been prohibited, with the exception of remaining stocks, according to the terms determined by Resolution 428/2020 of the Anvisa Board of Directors. The Secretaries of State and District Agriculture or an equivalent body are in charge of deciding the monitoring of the use of such products.
This instruction has also exposed the conditions for the use of products relevant to risk management and considers occupational exposure, such as, for example, the use of closed cabin tractors that allow the application of products without exposing workers, the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), and the use of closed washing systems for equipment and packaging.
Farmers’ cooperatives are allowed to distribute formulated products to their members up to 15 days before the end of the maximum period appropriate to the respective culture and region. Companies registering paraquat-based products must collect packaged stock in volumes equal to or greater than five liters held by farmers within 30 days after the end of the period, allowing use in the respective crops and regions.
Image source: “Brasil” by ruifo is marked with CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
