Indea inspection recorded eight incidents of street selling of plant seedlings this year

Teams from the Agricultural Defense Institute of the State of Mato Grosso (Indea) seized, in the first half of this year, 1.978 seedlings that were being transported for sale, without due origin, in eight incidents registered in the state's municipalities. The street selling of seeds, seedlings and plants, whether fruitful or ornamental, has been prohibited in Mato Grosso since 2010.

In 2022, Indea inspectors destroyed 4.686 seedlings, in the 17 inspections carried out in Cuiabá and the interior, the majority of which were fruit and ornamental plants.

The practice of selling any plant material without origin on the streets and avenues, using trucks, pickup trucks and passenger cars as a point of exposure and transportation, is prohibited due to the risk of pests that do not yet exist being introduced or disseminated in the State, causing losses in agricultural production and economic losses to rural producers.

“The law establishes that, in these cases, the penalty is the destruction of materials offered for sale illegally, with the offender not being entitled to any type of compensation, as well as a fine of more than R$39. Seeds, seedlings and plants can only be purchased from commercial establishments that are certified and registered in the National Registry of Seeds and Seedlings and Indea”, stated Indea's Plant Health Defense Coordinator, Silvana Amaral.