For Abrapa, approval of PL 1459/2022 was a major step forward

One of the main defenders of modernization in the agricultural pesticide registration system in Brazil, the Brazilian Association of Cotton Producers (Abrapa) celebrated the approval, in the Federal Senate, of Bill 1459/2022, which now goes to presidential sanction.

For the cotton growers' association, the change in the registration system, proposed in the PL, will make processes more efficient, transparent and safe, diversifying the molecules available to the producer, and, consequently, will reduce risks to human health and the environment.

For the president of Abrapa, Alexandre Schenkel (in the photo), even though the text has not been fully approved, the vote in the Senate is already a victory. “We waited more than 20 years for this to happen. Contrary to what some may think, the PL does not make the legislation more lax. From now on, product risk assessment becomes mandatory. The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock will coordinate the system, but the entire process will be collegial, with Anvisa and Ibama, without taking away the powers of the control and inspection bodies”, argues Schenkel.

According to the text, the deadlines for registration should be 24 months for new products, 12 months for the registration of generics ("off patent") and 180 days for the inclusion of new factories and crops. Currently, it takes around eight to ten years for a new molecule to reach the market. The president highlights that Brazilian legislation for pesticide registration is one of the strictest in the world and Brazil is one of the few countries that has an agronomic recipe for the use and commercialization of products.

“Brazil developed a tropical agriculture model that has become a global reference in sustainability and productivity. And he did this with scientific research and technological development, because it is not easy to produce in the tropics, where conditions are extremely favorable to the attack of pests and diseases”, ponders Schenkel. “Having access to more modern molecules enhances our integrated management matrix, which today increasingly relies on biologicals”, he explains.

More information can be found at: "Senate approves new law on pesticides".