Task force monitors clandestine production and sale of cocoa seeds and seedlings in Pará

A task force from the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (Mapa) and the State Agricultural Defense Agency (Adepará) was in the state of Pará to combat the clandestine production and sale of cocoa seeds and seedlings (Theobroma cacao, Euterpe oleracea, Musa sp and native forest species). The state has a planted area of ​​approximately 220 thousand hectares of the fruit. 

The action took place in the trans-Amazonian region - distributed in the municipalities of Altamira, Brasil Novo, Medicilândia, Uruará, Placas, Novo Repartimento, Anapu, Pacajá and Vitória do Xingu - with the aim of preventing and curbing the entry and spread of pests associated with the crop of the cocoa tree.

The inspection team checked production units, the origin of the seedlings, the presence of pests and provided guidance and defined deadlines for the regularization of establishments with the Federal Superintendence of Agriculture of Pará (SFA-PA). In total, 55 commercial nurseries, 1.547.754 seedlings and 618.700 parent plants were inspected. Four interdiction terms and two infraction notices were issued.

“The creation of the task force was fundamental given the importance of cocoa cultivation for the state and the need to introduce clonal propagation material with guarantees of identity and quality, including phytosanitary. Actions like this are essential to preserve the quality and health of cocoa plantations in the region”, reports the Head of the Inspection, Inspection and Plant Health Service of Pará, Wagner da Conceição.

The operation mobilized through Mapa three federal agricultural tax auditors and an agent for agricultural activities from Pará, Maranhão and Minas Gerais and through Adepará eight state agricultural inspectors.