“This analysis places Brazil in 29th position in the FAO/UN ranking for use of agrochemicals…”
Eduardo Leão is the president of CropLife Brasil, with a degree in agronomic engineering, a M.Sc. in applied economics from the Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture, an MBA in Government Relations from the Getúlio Vargas Foundation, and a Ph.D. in applied economics from the University of São Paulo.
Eduardo Leão, president at CropLife Brasil
AgriBrasilis – Why are there products that are banned or not approved in the EU but are used in Brazil? Is this comparison appropriate?
Eduardo Leão – Each country adopts its own guidelines for product registration, according to local agronomic conditions. Different climates and types of crops require different phytosanitary management.
Let’s consider the case of soybeans. Europe practically does not cultivate the crop and, even in the regions where they do, the pests and diseases that we face here do not exist there. This means that the chemical pesticides that perform this pest control here are not necessary in that region. Therefore, several products used in Brazil are not registered in the EU, simply because there is no demand for the crop, which does not mean that they are banned or not approved.
In addition, it should be noted that Brazilian regulatory authorities have autonomy and high technical and scientific capacity to ensure the health of the Brazilian population and environmental safety.
Even after approval, Brazil may, at any time, call for products to be revaluated, whenever the country is alerted by international organizations of which it is a member, or whenever there are signs of reduced agronomic efficiency, of risk to human health and/or the environment, precisely with the aim of maintaining the rigor and safety of the use of these products at the same level as in other countries around the world.
AgriBrasilis – In this sense, are the food products harvested here safe for human consumption?
Eduardo Leão – The latest report from Anvisa’s Pesticide Residue Analysis Program in Food, with the results of analyses carried out in 2018, 2019 and 2022, indicated that the food products harvested in Brazil are safe for human consumption regarding the potential risks of acute and chronic poisoning resulting from exposure to agrochemical residues.
There is more information about the report at https://croplifebrasil.org/noticias/alimentos-brasileiros-sao-seguros-afirma-anvisa/
AgriBrasilis – Is the discussion about pesticides in Brazil technical or is it biased?
Eduardo Leão – Pesticides play a fundamental role in increasing food production per planted area, that is, in increasing agricultural yields. This increase is due to factors such as advances in research and development, with the supply of increasingly modern, efficient and sustainable products.
Pesticide control products are even more important in a tropical country like Brazil, where the hot and humid climate is favorable to the proliferation of pests and diseases. To get an idea of the importance of using pesticides, the average crop loss due to the lack of such products would be of 37.5%.
Regarding the discussion about pesticides in Brazil, I think that dialogue is the only way to build consensus and move forward in relation to the challenges of our generation. Pesticides are necessary to meet important global agendas, such as food and energy insecurity and mitigating the effects of climate change. And all of these agendas involve efficient and sustainable agriculture, which invariably involves science and technological innovation.
AgriBrasilis – The approval of new products is very low in the country. Is there resistance to the approval of new active ingredients?
Eduardo Leão – The Brazilian regulatory system, which analyzes new active ingredients and was governed by legislation that was over 35 years old [the new legislation was approved in December 2023], has in fact been one of the slowest in the world. The country has taken, on average, more than seven years to approve a new molecule, which is twice the average approval time in the EU and three times longer than countries like the US, Canada and Argentina.
As a result, Brazilian farmers have taken much longer than international competitors to have access to new products, which are invariably more sustainable and selectiv. We have strong expectations that the new law, approved at the end of last year, will allow for greater efficiency in this process.
AgriBrasilis – The new Pesticides Law No. 14785 centralizes the role of the Ministry of Agriculture in the registration of phytosanitary products. What are the consequences for the sector?
Eduardo Leão – The definition of guidelines and analyses related to agronomic efficiency, health safety and environmental preservation remain the responsibility of MAPA, Anvisa and Ibama, respectively. The Ministry of Agriculture – MAPA now only coordinates the registration and reanalysis/revaluation processes for phytosanitary products.
MAPA’s leadership of these processes does not represent a waiver of the technical and scientific criteria of the other agencies. In addition, this leadership optimizes processes via an integrated communication system between regulatory agencies, with efficiency gains for public administration, without compromising stages for the evaluations of agency specialists.
CropLife Brasil considers the new Pesticides Law a milestone for updating legislation in light of new technologies and the sustainability of the industry and the production sector. The text guarantees greater predictability and legal security for new investments and represents a fundamental institutional advance for Brazilian agriculture to remain competitive, with access to more modern and efficient products.
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