The security that scientific advances bring to agriculture

But what little is covered is exactly the science behind a new phytosanitary product and the entire complex and detailed process that results in more modern and safer options.

The production chain for a new pesticide is made up of three stages: molecule research, product development tests and evaluation procedures to obtain registration. During the research phase, approximately 160 thousand molecules are synthesized, in search of ingredients with the potential to be used in new products, increasingly less toxic and more specific for certain pests and to serve different agricultural crops. After screening, these compounds undergo numerous preliminary tests, which involve ecotoxicological analyses, mode of action alerts and virtual and vitro, to guarantee the biological efficacy and safety of the material. After all this analysis, between 200 and 300 molecules – less than 0,2% of the original ones – are selected for the next stage.

In the development phase, biological efficacy tests are carried out on around 5 selected molecules and, from there, a variety of formulations are developed and subjected to experimental toxicological studies and tests on their fate in the environment. From that moment on, the genotoxic, carcinogenic, immunotoxic, neurotoxic potentials and effects on the endocrine and reproductive systems are evaluated. As you can see, there is a great scientific advance, not only in the development of products with a better profile and in the ways of using these products, but, mainly, in the science applied to the procedures that support the assessments, such as mathematical models that provide risk analysis. occupational, dietary and environmental.

Finally, in the registration phase, a molecule is selected and a dossier is delivered to the responsible regulatory bodies – MAPA, Anvisa and Ibama – containing all the efficacy and safety studies carried out, so that they can analyze the data and decide whether whether or not they grant registration.

In summary, this entire process, which usually takes 17 to 20 years and has an average cost of US$ 286 million, considering everything from the beginning of research to its commercialization, is supported by enormous scientific evolution and committed to the development of products with a better toxicological profile, based on processes that have never been so precise.

For investments to continue being made in this area, it is essential that there is predictability in the regulatory process. Today in Brazil it takes an average of 8 years while other countries with relevant agriculture approve new technologies in an average of 2,5 years. This scenario needs to change as quickly as possible for the good of Brazilian agriculture.