International Agricultural Surveillance Service prevented 392 live pests from entering Brazil

In the last six months, integrated operations between the International Agricultural Surveillance Service of Foz do Iguaçu/PR (Vigiagro-Foz) and the Servicio Nacional de Calidad Y Sanidad Vegetal Y de Semillas (Senave), from Paraguay, prevented the entry of 392 live pests (insects), avoiding damage to health and Brazilian agricultural production. These insects were identified in 294 imports. The majority were present in loads of rice, corn, wheat and soybeans

This is the result of joint phytosanitary inspections, carried out in the Integrated Control Area of ​​Cidade do Leste/PY, in the last six months, and were presented today to employees of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (Mapa), Senave and representatives of Paraguayan precincts and companies, exporters, transporters, customs brokers and Brazilian importers, virtually, organized by Vigiagro de Foz do Iguaçu (PR)/Mapa.

The event also provided an overview of how this inspection process is carried out at the border of the two countries, from checking cargo to estimating the analyzes carried out. The federal agricultural tax auditor, Fernando Mendes, who works directly in the inspection in Foz, highlighted the importance of joint work between the two phytosanitary control bodies, to speed up the entire process from pest interception to the release of cargo. "Today, protocols are electronic, as are documents, forms and even service, carried out via WhatsApp", informed the auditor, who presented the main numbers of inspections carried out from December/20 to May this year.

The auditor revealed that during this six-month period, control and inspection actions resulted in four interceptions of quarantine pests absent in Brazil, of three different species. And he drew attention to the responsibilities in the interception of pests through the Vigiagro system, in imports. "The large number of interceptions denotes the need for improvement in pest control management in exporters' warehouses and silos, in order to reduce this number of almost 400 pests intercepted in just six months of operation", emphasized Fernando.

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The importance of working together to avoid major losses to agricultural production was also highlighted by the head of Vigiagro in Foz, Adinan Galina. "Our goal is to prevent the introduction of quarantine pests while

we guarantee compliance with the quality standards of plant products entering the country", he reinforced. In this process, the presentation also highlighted the importance of laboratory phytosanitary analysis of intercepted samples, which in Foz are carried out by the Agricultural Laboratory, which accelerates the release of loads.

According to Fernando Mendes, the agility and efficiency that the operation has achieved is only possible thanks to the joint and coordinated action between the two bodies (Mapa and Senave-PY) and the existence of laboratory support from the accredited agricultural defense network in the city of Foz do Iguaçu/PR. "The trucks are sampled once, jointly between the authorities of both countries, and then subjected to quality and phytosanitary inspection. With this methodology, hundreds of trucks are inspected and released on the same day, reducing user costs and increasing competitiveness from this border point", explained Fernando and highlighted that all interceptions were carried out in Paraguayan territory, eliminating the risk, even before the cargo entered Brazil. "In health terms, it is additional security for Brazil", stressed the auditor.

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The meeting also recalled the trajectory of the Integrated Control Area of ​​Cidade do Leste - PY since July 2011, when Mapa acted for the first time inspecting horticultural products and soybean cargo. Since then, the physical structure, joint action procedures and legislation have matured a lot, allowing us to achieve the current results. Almost 400 pests intercepted and duly identified at species level in Rede Mapa's laboratory is a result that brings great pride to those involved in this work, according to Fernando.