Brazil introduced new bill aiming to reduce registration time for agrochemicals by half

A new legislative bill numbered 3200/2015, introduced at the end of April in the House of Representatives of Brazil, could reduce the registration time for agrochemicals by half. The new legislation aims at modernizing the system of releasing agrochemicals, which can take up to eight years in the country now.

This bill that aims to introduce a procedure of registration for new agrochemicals could be completed in a year. “Today, the procedure in Brazil can take up to 10 years. In other countries, such as Argentina, Australia, and the United States, the deadline is around two to three years. Updating the Brazilian law will help reduce this time, without taking the responsibilities of registering agencies,” said Paulo César Amaral of the Brazilian Association of Cotton Growers.

Silvia Fagnani, executive-director of the National Union of the Plant Protection Products Industry (Sindiveg), stated the new rule would be applied not only to new pesticides, but also for the extension of registration to other crops of a product already released in the country. “Through improvement in the procedures, the concession deadline for registrations for pesticide would naturally shrink,” Fagnani explained.

A delay in the registration of new pesticides in Brazil is one of the bottlenecks in the legislation. Three agencies will be responsible for the analysis of the substances in Brazil. The National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) will do a toxicological evaluation for human health, the Brazilian Institute of Natural Environment and Renewable Resources (Ibama) will issue an opinion about the risk conclusions and the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Supply (Mapa) will evaluate the agronomic efficiency of the product. After the approval of the three agencies, Mapa will issue a registration approval.

Today, these procedures are not integrated and digital, something that will change with the new legislation. The modernization of the law will maintain all the current competencies, at the same time integrating and digitizing the analysis and registration system. “We cannot wait eight years on an average to access new products to combat plagues and diseases that appear on crops. The Brazilian agriculture needs tools to continue evolving and guaranteeing, beyond yields, food that is safer for the population,” said Paulo Cesar de Campos Amaral, a law consultant at Abrapa.

The new law will also include the criteria of Risk Evaluation to complement the Danger Evaluation currently used in Brazil. Risk Evaluation is used in the whole world to ensure safety. It takes into consideration the danger, as well as the exposition of the product. “This means that it will always be manipulated adequately, with the right equipment and in volume, frequency and appropriate time, so the agricultural pesticides do not risk the health of farmers, animals, plants, consumers and the environment,” concluded Amaral.

Julio Cézar Busato, vice-president of Abrapa and president of the Thematic Chamber of Agricultural Inputs, said this law could mean a major advancement for the farm business. “For the population, this means access to safer products at even more affordable prices. It is mandatory to approve this law,” he noted.

The Commission in the Brazilian House of Representatives that analyzes this project is directed by representative Tereza Cristina, who is also the president of the Agricultural Parliamentary Front.

“Sindiveg technicians will conduct a deeper analysis of the project, but from everything we have analyzed, it is positive and brings what the pesticide industry sought: science, transparency and predictability,” Fagnani stressed.