Brazilian soybean and maize crops could be banned if the ban on the use of glyphosate is maintained, Agriculture Minister Blairo Maggi said at an event held today (28) in São Paulo.
“We do not have a product that replaces glyphosate in this season, in this period. It is very difficult to carry on since Brazil plants 95% of its area of soybean and maize with no-tillage and glyphosate is the basis of this process. Not having it means not being able to harvest, “Maggi told Agência Brasil.
Still according to him, the producers are not prepared for a ban on the herbicide. “Glyphosate is the basis for desiccation and the no-till. We no longer have on the farms grids, plows, these mechanical instruments to prepare the soil. Everything is in the chemical base. Not using it means not being able to plant, “he added.
The debate over the use of the herbicide came back after Judge Luciana Raquel Tolentino de Moura of the 7th Federal Justice Court in Brasilia, to determine the suspension of registration of all products that use abamectin and glyphosate.
In an injunction, the magistrate said that the substances should not be used or marketed until a toxicological reassessment of the substances has been done by the National Agency of Sanitary Surveillance (Anvisa). The judge points out that glyphosate is indicated as a possible carcinogen by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Brazilian Association of Collective Health.
Last Friday (24), the Attorney General’s Office (AGU) filed an appeal against the injunction that suspended the use of glyphosate. Maggi said he expected a ruling favorable to the appeal even today.
This text was translated by machine from Brazilian Portuguese.