Brazil should institute in the next few months a federal government stamp that will allow consumers to identify organic products on supermarket shelves. The measure should be established in the first half of this year.
Tereza Cristina Saminêz, the acting coordinator of Agro ecology of the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply is the one promising this,
According to Saminêz, organic agriculture is important to the economy of Brazil, mainly in the social and environmental aspects. "With regard to management, the producer aims at minimizing the impact of productive activities on the environment, obtaining a different product that provides him with greater economic return," she emphasized.
We plant without pesticides or chemical fertilizer, the organic food won greater space among consumers, as it is considered a more evolved, humane and ecological system for production of food as it does not intoxicate the rural product, does not pollute the soil and does not generate food with harmful residues.
Producers have up to December 28 2009 to adapt to the system, as the decree regulating organic products, published in December 2007, established a grace period of two years for farmers to adapt.
In January 2008, the Brazilian federal government launched the Agriculture and Livestock Plan, allocating 1 billion reais (US$ 639.3 million at the time) for farmers who adhere to sustainability programs of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply.
The aim was to devise sustainable solutions for national agriculture and propagate socially just agribusiness that respects natural resources.
The highlights among the ministry's programs are those encouraging integrated production, developing organic farming, and programs turned to crop-husbandry-fruit farming integration.
Regarding the programs, the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply has already approved, for instance, technical norms for integrated production of 18 different varieties of fruit. There are rules for training farmers, soil handling, disease and plague control, residue analysis, harvesting techniques, transport and other aspects of the production chain. The program also includes tubers, grain, coffee and flowers.
The incentive program to organic farming will be based on agro-ecologic principles. The sector took a large leap forward in 2007, when a decree was issued regulating organic foods, thus enabling product certification. The creation of a bank for basic seeds of leguminous plants, to be used in green fertilization, was another successful initiative. Established in 2007, the bank has already produced 16 tons of seeds.
The system for farming-husbandry-fruit farming integration offers better income alternatives to rural producers, thanks to diversification of production. It proposes adoption of different forestry and agro-forestry production systems within a single area. It is possible to combine fibre and wood extraction with production systems for grain, meat, milk and agroenergy.
All products involved in sustainable production are certified by organizations accredited with the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply, and the National Institute of Metrology, Standardization and Industrial Quality (Inmetro). Certification ensures product credibility in the market.
Anba
