Mapa cancels registration of paraquat-based technical products

The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (Mapa) and the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) published a Joint Normative Instruction which defines the procedures for monitoring and supervising the use and collection of remaining stocks of products based on the active ingredient paraquat that are in the possession of Brazilian farmers, for the 2020/2021 agricultural harvest.

Registrations of all technical products based on the active ingredient paraquat are canceled from the date of publication of the Joint Normative Instruction. Registrations of formulated products will be canceled as of July 31, 2021. Technical products are used by the industry to formulate pesticides and formulated products are those that are ready for use. 

The import, production and marketing of technical products formulated based on the active ingredient paraquat have been banned since September 22nd of this year. The use of products is also prohibited, with the exception of remaining stocks, in accordance with the deadlines determined by Anvisa Collegiate Board Resolution 428/2020. Inspection of the use of products will be carried out by the State and District Departments of Agriculture, or equivalent body.

The Normative Instruction also provides conditions for using the product, for risk management in the face of occupational exposure, such as the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), the use of tractors with closed cabins that allow the application of the product without exposing the worker. rural areas and the use of closed systems for washing equipment and packaging

Farmer cooperatives will be able to distribute the formulated products to their members up to 15 days before the end of the maximum period foreseen for their use in the respective culture and region. Companies holding registrations for products based on the active ingredient paraquat must collect stocks in packages with a volume equal to or greater than five liters that are in the hands of farmers within 30 days after the end of the period that allows their use in the respective crops and region.