Brazil Court denies appeal of Bahia State: Use of Emamectin Benzoate against Helicoverpa armigera

The use of Emamectin Benzoate to control Helicoverpa armigera remains prohibited in Brazil. Judge Maria Ligia Ramos Cunha Lima denied request for appeal brought by Bahia’s government against earlier decisions which prohibited the use of this based-substance pesticide that was imported with the authorization of the Brazil Department of Agriculture.

The magistrate of the Court of Justice of Bahia State upheld the decision at 1st Instance, justifying "as an indispensable condition for the marketing and use of pesticides prior registration with the Department of Agriculture (MAPA), as well as the address before the Agriculture Defense Agency of Bahia State (ADAB). It happens that Emamectin Benzoate is not registered with the federal jurisdiction, which in itself would prevent the use of the same. "

The sentence says that "there is technical opinion issued by ANVISA unfavorably to the use of pesticides that have as the active ingredient Emamectin Benzoate," which served to "reject the registration of the product in the country." According to the Judge, the reading of the opinion "leaves no doubt as to the adverse effects of Emamectin Benzoate as the harmful consequences for human health and the environment, living still many of its effects in the field of uncertainty."

The State of Bahia had argued that it was "phytosanitary emergency," and that the "authorization to import and use by states was determined by the Department of Agriculture (MAPA) as a matter of absolute urgency and necessity to attack a rare pest, aggressive, unprecedented in Brazil, which emerged concurrently in 10 states, with proven devastation potential for soybeans, cotton, corn, sorghum, beans, as well as talking about attacks on tomatoes, peppers, coffee, citrus and other kinds of crops, which has startled farmers of the country, its sturdiness and speed of proliferation and devastation in the productions ".