Normative instruction creates the Pro-Citrus Program in RS

The new Normative Instruction 23/2024, which establishes actions and strategies based on the creation of the Rio Grande do Sul Citrus Defense and Development Program (Pró-Citros), was published in the State Official Gazette this week. Linked to the Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Sustainable Production and Irrigation (Seapi), the Program aims to encourage, promote, defend and coordinate actions with a view to developing a modern, sustainable and competitive citrus industry. 

The objectives include increasing the productivity of orchards, qualifying citrus production for the domestic and foreign markets, strengthening regional marketing hubs and preventing pests and diseases.

The instrument should reach citrus growers throughout the state, with an emphasis on municipalities with citrus production in the regions of Alto Uruguai, Planalto Médio, Vales do Caí and Taquari, Serra and Fronteira Oeste. “Those municipalities that have municipal actions, projects or programs aligned with Pró-Citros will have priority”, says the Normative Instruction.

According to the director of the Department of Plant Protection (DDV/Seapi), Ricardo Felicetti, among the actions to be promoted by the Program are the establishment of a surveillance and notification network, the composition of a risk matrix applied to greening - the largest disease recorded in the world, but which does not exist in Rio Grande do Sul - the promotion of training in citrus phytosanitary, the establishment of a program for uninjured citrus seedlings (without pests or diseases), the promotion of awareness events and the signing of cooperation agreements between municipalities and entities.