President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva signed this Monday a decree in Brasília establishing the National Programme for the Reduction of Pesticides, known as Pronara. This was reported on the
website of the Brazilian government.

The initiative aims to combine research, information, residue monitoring, technical assistance, rural extension, and bio-inputs to reduce pesticide use and promote sustainable production of healthy food by family farmers. 

Kelli Mafort, Executive Secretary of the General Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic, who attended the ceremony, described the programme’s launch as a “historic milestone in the fight to reduce pesticides.” She noted it as the result of at least a decade of efforts by various organisations, social movements, farmers, the National Commission for Agroecology and Organic Production, and the pesticide reduction campaign.

Mafort emphasised that the next step is to ensure the implementation of the programme’s measures. She also explained that the federal government is tasked with coordinating actions related to Pronara.

Photo: website of the Brazilian government