Department of Agriculture and Supply of SP holds a course to qualify agronomists for phytosanitary certification

The Department of Agriculture and Supply of the State of São Paulo, through the Biological Institute (IB-APTA) and the Agricultural Defense Coordination (CDA), will hold from July 05th to 07th, the LV Qualification Course for Technical Persons Responsible for Issuance of CFO/CFOC, offered for the first time in a online. More than 1.500 technicians responsible for issuing certificates have already been qualified by IB and CDA.

The Phytosanitary Certificate of Origin (CFO) is a tool used to prevent the entry of quarantine pests, that is, those that have economic relevance, in places that have not recorded their occurrences or that have already proven to be free and with their spread controlled. "The CFO is one of the most important methods of preserving financial and food assets", says IB researcher, Harumi Hojo.

The course aims to qualify and accredit agronomists and forestry engineers to carry out phytosanitary certification for pests of agricultural crops of economic interest to states and phytosanitary requirements of countries that import agricultural products from Brazil.

The issuance of these certificates is regulated by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MAPA), in accordance with Normative Institution 33, of August 24, 2016. "The professional who participates in the courses and meets the requirements set out in this regulation will be qualified to phytosanitary certification of pests present in crops of interest such as citrus", says Harumi.

After being approved, agronomists are registered and qualified in GEDAVE (Animal and Plant Defense Management), a computerized system run by the Department of Agriculture and Supply, by the CDA, which allows certificates to be issued for the pests studied during the course. "Only the agronomist registered and qualified in this system can issue a health certificate for pests of economic interest for a given crop", says Marlon Peres da Silva, from CDA.

To receive the qualification, it is necessary to have 100% attendance in the course and a minimum of 75%, which will be assessed through multiple choice tests or essays carried out at the end of each day of the course.