RS Agriculture Secretariat asks Mapa to extend the soybean sowing period until the end of February

The Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock and Rural Development (Seapdr) sent this Wednesday (19/01) a letter to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (Mapa), asking the federal body to make the deadline established in Ordinance 394, of 10 September 2021, which defined the period for soybean sowing in Rio Grande do Sul between September 13, 2021 and January 31, 2022, for the purposes of complying with the National Asian Soy Rust Control Program (PNCFS). Seapdr proposes that the planting calendar be extended until February 28, 2022.

Signed by secretary Silvana Covatti, the letter states that the extension of the deadline is essential, remembering that soy is the main export item in Rio Grande do Sul and has great socioeconomic relevance for the State. "On a visit to the State last week, the Minister of Agriculture Tereza Cristina was able to see up close the situation of our crops and the need for measures to mitigate the effects of the drought", highlights Silvana. In the 2021/2022 harvest, the initial forecast was for the implementation of 6,3 million hectares of grain in rural areas of Rio Grande do Sul.

The director of Plant Defense at the Department of Agriculture, Ricardo Felicetti, explains that, due to the drought faced in the State and the situation of loss of several soybean crops, there is a tendency for there to be a need to replant some areas after the deadline for sowing, on January 31st, a period in which weather forecasts indicate the possibility of operation. “There are also situations of producers who were unable to sow their crops due to lack of rain, who would have to carry out cultivation in situations of water adequacy, which will possibly occur in the State only from February onwards”, adds Felicetti.

The director points out that planting soybeans in these conditions falls outside the preferred cultivation conditions. However, he states that, given the losses caused by the drought, the measure is technically and economically justified.

In the meetings she held with Mapa this year, secretary Silvana had also demanded the extension of the period of Agricultural Climate Risk Zoning (Zarc) for soybean cultivation for the purpose of qualifying producers for Proagro and rural insurance. Regarding this claim, Mapa has already indicated that it is not possible to change the date, which ended on December 31st.