Argentine agriculture cannot completely eliminate agrochemicals without jeopardizing the volume and quality of production, according to a report recently published by the National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA) of Argentina, published on November 15 on the online platform AgroPages.
Argentina consumes 230 million liters of herbicides and 350 million liters of other agrochemicals a year, according to the report. The study also showed that it is possible “increase productivity and profitability with a lower environmental impact, hand in hand with the gradual reduction of external resources”.
Jorgelina Montoya, Coordinator of the Structural Project for the Sustainable Management of Phytosanitary Products and INTA expert, defended the role of agrochemicals: “There are extensive records that show that without the use of phytosanitary products, losses due to pests would have been important.”.
“However, it is important to strive to optimize the use of plant protection products”Montoya added.
For his part, Luis Carrancio, director of INTA in the province of Santa Fe, said that “Agrochemicals are a necessary but risky tool”and paid special attention “the need for its correct use”.
Carolina Sasal, INTA specialist in the province of Entre Ríos, assures: “Phytosanitary products are a tool, but not the only one”. He emphasized the importance “consider other alternative and complementary management strategies, such as the use of bioresources, crop rotations, mechanical controls and planting times, which reduce the use of chemical resources”.
Eduardo Trumper, coordinator of the phytosanitary program and INTA specialist in the province of Córdoba, recognized that “The use of chemicals is a practice deeply rooted in existing production systems and difficult to change despite the existence of alternatives such as agroecology”.
“There is a global trend in agricultural production towards less use of chemical synthesis resources”Trumper assured.
Source: Rossa Primavera
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