Brazil breaks record for pesticide release and biological defenses in 2024.
According to data released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (Mapa), 663 products were approved, representing a 19% increase compared to 2023, when 555 approvals were recorded.
This is the highest number ever recorded by the Ministry since the survey began in the year 2000.
The increase in releases coincides with the entry into force of the new legal framework for pesticides, sanctioned with vetoes by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) in December 2023.
The new legislation changed the rules for the approval and commercialization of pesticides in the country, streamlining the release process.
According to the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa), of the 663 products released, 15 were classified as highly toxic, while 587 were considered low toxicity.
The rest were classified as moderately toxic or could not be classified.
In the first two years of Lula’s government, 1,218 pesticides and biological defenses were released.
During the four years of Jair Bolsonaro’s government (2019-2022), the total number of products launched was 2,182.
The data indicates that in 2023, the number of pesticides and biological defenses released decreased compared to 2022, interrupting a sequence of seven consecutive years of increase.
The Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama) classified the pesticides released in 2024 according to the level of danger to the environment. The survey presents the following figures:
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12 – Highly dangerous to the environment
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278 – Very dangerous to the environment
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255 – Dangerous to the environment
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118 – Not very dangerous to the environment
Replacement of hazardous pesticides
Last October, the government announced that it is studying the replacement of pesticides considered highly toxic and dangerous to the health of Brazilians.
Incentives, including financial ones, are being evaluated for producers who replace them with alternatives such as bioinputs, that is, biological products made from microorganisms and enzymes.
Data from the General Coordination of Environmental Health Surveillance, of the Ministry of Health, indicate that in the last ten years, 124,000 people were treated for pesticide poisoning.
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