The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (Mapa) launched this Friday (20) the 18th Annual Organic Product Promotion Campaign, with the slogan “Organic Product, Better for Life”. The event was held virtually.
During the campaign, activities will be carried out across the country to publicize the characteristics of organic production. The consumer will also be able to know how the control is carried out to guarantee the quality of these products.
In the last 12 years, the number of registered organic producers grew by 450%. In February 2022, more than 26 thousand organic producers were regularized and registered in the National Register of Organic Producers (CNPO).
According to the assistant secretary of Agricultural Defense (SDA), Márcio Rezende, the ministry works so that the organic products sector seeks to gain scale, without losing its characteristics, including production combined with sustainability.
The director of SDA’s Technical Services Department, José Luis Ravagnani Vargas, highlighted that one of the challenges is to internationalize Brazilian organic products. Currently, there is an agreement that allows the export of organic products to Chile.
Technical assistance
This year, selection processes were opened to offer technical assistance to families of organic farmers. In total, R$ 7.8 million will be allocated to serve the states of Amazonas, Ceará, Pernambuco, Paraíba, Sergipe and Rio Grande do Norte, based on a management contract signed between the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (Mapa) and the National Agency for Technical Assistance and Rural Extension (Anater).
In all, 1,605 family farmers who are members of a Social Control Organization who sell organic products through direct sales will benefit.
organic product
An organic product is “one obtained within an organic system of agricultural production – or sustainable extractive – that benefits the local ecosystem, protects natural resources, respects the socioeconomic and cultural characteristics of the local community, preserves the rights of the workers involved and does not use genetically modified organisms or synthetic chemicals”.
In order to be marketed, organic products must be certified by bodies accredited by the Ministry of Agriculture, and only those produced by family farmers who are part of social control organizations registered with MAPA, which sell exclusively through direct sales to consumers, are exempt from certification.