Brasília, May 24, 2004 (Agência Brasil) - Integrated fruit production, a requirement of the major import markets, such as the European Union, diminished the use of pesticides in the 14 Brazilian centers that have already adopted this system, according to the Ministry of Agriculture. The Ministry informs that this type of production consists in the cultivation of high-quality products under strict sanitary conditions, with the application of norms of environmental sustainability and food security.

The preliminary figures released by the Ministry's Fruit Growing Development Program (Profruta) on the rationalization of pesticide use in 2003 show that in apple orchards, for example, the use of weed killers and mite killers dropped 67%; insecticides, 40%; and fungicides, 15%.

In mango plantations the reduction amounted to 80% for weed killers, 60.7% for fungicides, and 43.3% for insecticides. In the grapevines of the Northeast, the use of weed killers fell 60.5%; insecticides, 53%; and fungicides, 43.3%. In papaya production fungicide use declined 78%; insecticides, 36%; and mite killers and weed killers, 30%. According to the Ministry, greater efficiency in pesticide use was also observed in cashew, melon, and peach orchards.

By the end of the year, the Ministry of Agriculture will license the integrated centers of cashew, melon, and peach production for export to certify the origin of their products, which will be identified by a seal attesting purity and quality. At the moment, only apple producers who have adopted the integrated fruit production norms have this certification.

The adhesion of fruit growers to the system has been growing from year to year. In the 2002/03 crop year, integrated production accounted for 27% (8,660 hectares) of the 31,070 hectares of apple orchards in the three states of Southern Brazil. In the 2003/04 crop year this share rose to 40% (13,196 hectares).

Translator: David Silberstein