A group of professionals working at the Occupational Health Reference Center (Cerest) carried out a technical visit to the headquarters of the Engineering and Automation Center of the Agricultural Institute (CEA-IAC), in the São Paulo city of Jundiaí. On site, the Aplique Bem, 'Quepia' and Reference Unit programs are maintained, which benefit rural work. The objective of the visit was to expand interaction between the two study centers and also pave the way for future partnerships.
Received by scientific researcher Hamilton Ramos, coordinator of the three programs maintained at CEA - all developed with private resources -, Cerest professionals received information about the main initiatives underway in Brazil, aimed at the safe use of agrochemicals.
As Ramos explained, the Aplique Bem program takes a training and participatory research platform directly to rural properties in the country. “We provide producers and rural workers with all the technical conditions, in addition to support materials, so that agricultural pesticide applications are safer and more effective”, said the researcher.
Free and unrelated to commercial products or brands, Ramos highlighted, Aplique Bem has already covered, in 12 years of existence, 22 Brazilian states, as well as countries such as Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Colombia, Ghana, Mali, Mexico and Vietnam.
Regarding the recently created Reference Unit for Technology and Safety in the Application of Agrochemicals (UR), Ramos highlighted that it is a fundamental initiative for the country to reduce the deficit of specialized labor in the application of agricultural pesticides. UR trains knowledge multipliers to train workers in implementing good practices in crop spraying.
The IAC-Quepia Quality of Personal Protective Equipment in Agriculture program, according to Ramos, was a pioneer in the adoption of legislation based on ISO standards to provide safety for workers who deal with pesticides. IAC calculations, says the researcher, indicate that around 2 million people perform this role in the country today. Quepia also completed 12 years of uninterrupted activities last July. The program receives financial support from the Brazilian personal protective equipment (PPE) industry.
“Cerest develops high-quality work with a view to preserving the health of Brazilian workers. Our expectation is that in the near future we will be able to share knowledge and initiatives that benefit rural workers”, concluded Hamilton Ramos.
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