New Procedure for Fertilizer Registration in Argentina
Brazil
Anvisa approves the toxicological evaluation of 4 new formulated products and 1 new technical product – with active ingredients not registered in Brazil yet. (Anvisa)
Syngenta presents Artificial Intelligence technology during Agrishow, which will become part of Cropwise, a digital agriculture platform that already covers 100 million hectares in Brazil. According to Syngenta’s global digital agriculture leader, Feroz Sheikh, the choice of the country for the product’s debut can be attributed to the vision that Brazil is one of the main and most advanced markets in terms of sustainability and technological advancement in agribusiness. “It is where farmers are ready to adopt innovations”, said Sheikh. (Syngenta)
Tello, a fertilizer company created as a partnership between companies Amaggi, Coopercitrus, Souza e Lucas Participações, Viola Participações, and Tecnobeef aims to earn US$ 97.5 million by the 2026/27 season, manufacturing around 400 thousand tonnes of organomineral fertilizer per year. (Amaggi)
Ministry of Agriculture has approved the registration of 38 formulated pesticide products. Of these, 4 are biological products. (MAPA)
Coopercitrus and DVA Agro have announced a joint venture. The more than 40 thousand members of Coopercitrus now “own” 15% of Agroallianz, DVA Agro’s agrochemical company. “The objective of the companies is to bring the farmers into the industry and the industry into the farms“, said João Aleixo, global executive director of DVA Agro. For the CEO of Coopercitrus, Fernando Degobbi, “this joint venture brings an opportunity to expand the product portfolio, creating synergies with existing partners, thus delivering greater value to the cooperative members, which are the fundamental point of the cooperative’s business model”. (Coopercitrus; DVA Agro)
Carlos Landerdahl is the new vice president of business at SoluBio, leaving his position as director of marketing and sales at Ubyfol. (SoluBio)
Ministry of Agriculture published, on April 25th, Acts No. 17 and 18 of deliberations in the area of post-registration of pesticides, with 3 cancellations of pesticide registrations and 5 cancellations of registration requests, among other determinations. (MAPA)
Minister of Agriculture, Carlos Fávaro, met with the Minister of the Environment, Marina Silva, and the president of Ibama, Rodrigo Agostinho, to discuss proposals for an integrated evaluation system for the approval of new agricultural pesticides. “As a farmer myself, I do not want to use organophosphates on my properties. Let’s use biological products, modern molecules. Farmers know the importance of these pesticides for improving their production, to add value to their products, but we need to have the best products available on the market, and fast”, said Fávaro. (Agência Gov)
Petrobras plans to resume work on the Nitrogen Fertilizer Unit III (UFN-III) in Três Lagoas, State of Mato Grosso do Sul, with the support of the Chinese company Sinopec. The unit has the potential to become the largest fertilizer factory in Latin America. In a statement, Petrobras pointed out that “the partnership also provides for the evaluation of potential commercial agreements in the areas of: oil exploration; production of fertilizers from natural gas and other sources; production development; refining; biorefining and petrochemicals; engineering, construction and services; research, development and innovation”. (Petrobras)
Legislative Assembly of the State of Paraná held a public hearing about pesticide drift on April 22nd. The event brought together parliamentarians, farmers, experts and representatives of State agencies and civil society. “The application of pesticides results in the phenomenon known as drift, which occurs when particles are diverted to areas beyond the site of application. Even following all regulatory conditions, such as adequate calibration, temperature and favorable winds, the drift persists…”, said Giovanna Menezes, legal advisor at the human rights organization Terra de Direito. (Paraná Legislative Assembly; Terra de Direitos)
Syngenta has announced the “immediate withdrawal of restrictions regarding the commercialization and the prohibition, suspension or restriction of use, production or import of thiamethoxam”. According to the company, “to restrict the use of an already registered product, it is necessary for the Ministry of Agriculture to establish a phytosanitary plan to replace the product, with the aim of controlling biological targets that may be left without control alternatives for the integrated pest management, which is something that did not occur in this present case”. The company affirms that “Thiamethoxam is safe for all applications provided for in the leaflets of formulated products based on this active ingredient”. (Syngenta)
State Public Ministry is investigating the sale and irregular use of pesticides on sugarcane in Brasilândia, in the State of São Paulo. Three investigations are undergoing regarding a case that happened in December of 2022, involving the use of a product without proper agronomic recommendation, storage in incorrect conditions and distribution without registration. (MPE)
Sanitation Company of the State of Paraná – Sanepar is testing a product made in Japan to transform sewage sludge into organomineral fertilizer. 60 tonnes of the product were sent and will be tested at the Belém Sewage Treatment Station, in Curitiba, State of Paraná. According to Sanepar, “the process patented by the Japanese company performs the accelerated biological decomposition of organic waste under controlled conditions, with the use of activating microorganisms. This method makes it possible to reach thermal levels capable of sanitizing the sludge without the use of chemical products”. (Sanepar)
400 L of pesticides were seized in the municipality of Senador Guimard, State of Acre, with a value estimated at around US$ 111.8 thousand. (Gefron; PMAC)
Agricultural Research Network on the Corn Stunting Complex in the State of Paraná highlights the importance of selecting tolerant cultivars, seed treatment, regular spraying, weed control, sowing planning and environmental control to mitigate impacts of the corn leafhopper (Dalbulus maidis). The Network aims to develop corn leafhopper population distribution maps and issue alerts during critical periods for corn. “These alerts enable the farmers to know how the leafhopper populations are behaving in their region… so that they can decide whether or not to intensify management actions against corn stunt”, said Michele Regina Lopes da Silva, researcher at the Rural Development Institute of the State of Paraná. (IDR-Paraná; PR State News Agency)
According to Tatiane Almeida do Nascimento, head of the Formulated Product Registration Division at the Agricultural Defense Secretariat, most of the errors in the pesticide registration processes occur due to lack of documents, and the delay depends on each company being able to present the documents that already contain the specifications provided by the regulation. This time can vary from a week to a year, depending on the company. (MAPA)
Latin America
Organizations in Latin America denounce Bayer to the OECD for “environmental damage caused by glyphosate in regions in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Bolivia and for lack of risk assessment and damage prevention regarding the sale and use of GMO soybean seeds”. In a statement, Bayer said that it is “not aware of the alleged incidents in Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil… the description of the case does not correspond to the product and to the safety profile of glyphosate, which is one of the most researched pesticides in the world… we monitor the use of our products with extensive responsible management”. Among the organizations filing the complaints are Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales, from Argentina; Terra de Direitos, from Brazil; Base Investigaciones Sociales, from Paraguay; Fundación Tierra, from Bolivia; and the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, from Germany. (Terra de Direitos; Bayer)
According to researcher Fernando Oreja, there are “43 populations of herbicide-resistant weeds in Argentina, belonging to 24 different species. Of these 43 populations, there are 9 populations with multiple resistance”. The herbicide with the most cases is glyphosate, with 92% of resistant populations, followed by ALS inhibitors (29%), and auxin inhibitors (17%). (Oregon State University)
National Agri-Food Health and Quality Service from Argentina – Senasa has announced a new procedure for fertilizer registration, through Resolution No. 431/2024, aiming to simplify and provide more efficiency to registration processes. The Resolution details the requirements for registration, the quality parameters for commercialization, as well as a description of procedures, such as cases of product transfer between companies, changing the product’s commercial name, etc. The president of Senasa, Pablo Cortese, points out that “this is a big change in the registration process… the registrations no longer need to be renewed annually, nor will it be necessary to present samples as part of the registration process”. (Senasa)
Gowan Colombia has inaugurated a bioinputs plant based on botanical extracts in Rionegro, Antioquia, to export and also to supply the local market. According to the company’s manager, José Joaquín Vieda, an investment of US$ 8 million was made to develop new fungicides, insecticides and nematicides. (Gowan Colombia)
Pesticide particles have been detected in honey in Mexico. Particles of glyphosate, malathion, organochlorines, among others, were found. According to Jovani Ruiz Toledo, researcher at the National Council of Humanities, Sciences and Technologies, the problem is caused by the excessive use of agrochemicals by the country’s farmers. Toledo said that bees become contaminated when consuming nectar or pollen from the plants, and this contamination can be taken to the hives, and, consequently, affect humans. (Conahcyt)
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