RS Agriculture Department sends 19 packages of unsolicited seeds for analysis

The Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock and Rural Development (Seapdr) sent to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (Mapa), this Wednesday (7), 19 packages of unsolicited seeds arriving from abroad by mail. The material was delivered by the population to the agricultural defense inspectorates in the interior and also to the central office in Porto Alegre. These seeds are being received by agricultural defense agencies in the State and sent for analysis at the Federal Agricultural Defense Laboratory in Goiás, a reference in the country.

According to the head of Seapdr's Plant Health Defense division, Ricardo Felicetti, there is no pattern among the species sent, and some packages even have more than one species among their seeds. "The international shipment of plant propagation structures is regulated precisely so that there is an analysis of the risk of the species becoming established as an agricultural or invasive pest in the natural environment. Furthermore, plant shipments without official control may contain pests in their shipment, such as mites, fungi and bacteria, which, when established in crops, cause enormous damage", he warns.

This Tuesday (6), the  Ministry of Agriculture reported that fungi, bacteria and the possibility of quarantine pests (which do not exist in Brazil) were found in unsolicited seed packages that arrived in the country and were sent for analysis. To date, 258 unsolicited seed packages have been confirmed in 24 states and the Federal District, including Rio Grande do Sul.

The Department of Agriculture advises the population that, if they receive seeds in the mail, do not plant them, do not dispose of them in the trash or sewage, or in the environment. The package must be delivered to Seapdr agricultural defense inspectorates or offices or units of the Ministry of Agriculture.

Other channels for communicating receipt of unsolicited seeds from abroad are the telephone number of the Plant Health Defense division, (51) 3288-6289 and 3288-6294, WhatsApp (51) 98412-9961 or email Defesavegetal@agricultura.rs.gov.br.