This Tuesday, the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture published Ordinance No. 52, which updates the technical regulation, as well as the lists of substances and practices allowed in organic production systems. One of the novelties is the incorporation of standards for the production of seeds, seedlings and edible mushrooms in organic farming.

The update also brings an increase in the characterization of the organic production unit, the mandatory adoption of protection measures against contamination by neighboring production units, changes in the rules for animal and honey production, inclusion of substances for use as desiccants, minimum term for the conversion period.

The ordinance measures meet the requests of producers and technicians, giving more security to the production system, agility in altering the positive lists of substances and authorized practices.

“There is great expectation of a positive impact on the development of Brazilian organic production, since the new text is appropriate for today, with a clearer language, incorporation of new substances and practices in the positive lists, expanding the technological options available for producers and better adaptation of the text to the principles of organic production ”, explains the coordinator of Ecological Production of the Map, Virgínia Lira.

The ordinance is also part of the efforts of the Ministry of Agricultural Defense in compliance with Decree No. 10.139 / 2019, which provides for the review and consolidation of normative acts inferior to the decrees.

Organic products

It is considered an ecological, natural or processed product, which is obtained in an ecological system of agricultural production or from a sustainable extractive process that is not harmful to the local ecosystem.

Currently, there are 24,608 organic producers in the National Registry of Organic Producers (CNPO, for its acronym in Portuguese).

To be marketed, the products must be certified by bodies accredited by the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture. Those produced by family farmers of social control organizations registered with the Ministry, which sell exclusively directly to consumers, are exempt from certification.