REGULATORY LANDSCAPE
CropLife Latin America and the network of Associations maintain a proactive dialogue with regulatory authorities, farmers, academia and other sectors to promote and defend regulations based on scientific evidence that allow access to agricultural technologies. Essential topics to advance towards agricultural sustainability.
This interactive map shows the most important advances and challenges in 2024.
REGULATORY AGENDA 2023 - 2024
In 2023, science-based arguments gained space
Maintaining due process and science-based argumentation was key for authorities in Panama, the Dominican Republic, Peru, Mexico and Chile to understand the importance of risk assessment over the precautionary principle as an argument to prohibit or restrict products.
Mexico on the brink of losing biotechnological innovation
A government decree bans the import of GMO seeds. The issue depends on a trade panel under the USMCA promoted by the USA and Canada.
Pending task in harmonizing the Labeling Regulation in Central America
The implementation of the regulation continues to be delayed because several countries have not yet approved the new labels and the interpretation of the standard is not harmonized among countries.
This regulation was approved within the framework of the Central American Customs Union in 2021, hence advocacy for its correct application continues.
Reform to the registration system in Costa Rica
The new proposal is expected to be unveiled in the first quarter of 2024 and Costa Rica can normalize the process of registering agrochemicals. It is essential for farmers to have access to the latest technology inputs, which requires an efficient and science-based registration system.
Regulations on Registrations in Honduras
The Honduran authorities recently published the new regulation for agrochemical registrations. It is expected that the registration staff will strengthen their capabilities to avoid delays in the registration of new agrochemicals.
Regulation in the Dominican Republic in Design
The new regulation for agrochemical registrations in the Dominican Republic is expected to be finalized in the first half of 2024.
Superintendency of Registrations in El Salvador
A recent law created a "superintendency" of registrations that will manage and authorize all registrations in the country, including pesticide registrations. It is not clear what impact this will have on the efficiency of the system and the role of the Ministry of Agriculture as the competent authority.
Dialogue in Panama focused on risk mitigation
In Panama, the authorities' proposal to ban products classified as Ia and Ib was contained. From the original list of 26 molecules, the proposal at this moment is for only 11, and the industry continues to defend due process and the technical-scientific basis of any regulation with the political authorities.
BIOTECHNOLOGY
Costa Rica Advances in Biotechnology Adoption
Costa Rica adopted the Genome Editing standards officially published in the Gazette in November 2023, which amends the Phytosanitary Law Regulation, Decree 26921-MAG. The standard is similar to those of other Latin American countries, with the novelty of creating a definition of equivalence with conventional breeding in the absence of foreign genetic material.
BIOTECHNOLOGY
Guatemala's Congress Analyzes Biodiversity Project
A new bill initiative (No. 6086) on biodiversity was presented in Congress. The initiative poses a risk to legal security for the agricultural sector, private property, protected areas, and would limit access to technology in the country, as it would prohibit the use of improved organisms.
BIOTECHNOLOGY
Dominican Republic Designs Regulation on GMOs
The regulation for the Law on GMOs 209-2015 is in progress, with expectations that its contents will reflect a positive openness toward technology.
Training for Judges and Magistrates on the Importance of Agricultural Inputs
In Colombia, CropLife Latin America, Acosemillas, AgroBio, and the Procultivos Chamber of Andi have agreed with the Rodrigo Lara Bonilla Judicial School to conduct a series of training sessions aimed at judges and magistrates from the Courts, to raise awareness about the impact of agricultural inputs on food security, human health protection, and the environment, in light of the increasing judicialization of registrations of pesticides.
Application of the Andean Norm
To achieve the proper implementation of Andean Decision 804 and Andean Technical Manual 2075, especially regarding the adoption of GHS (Globally Harmonized System) or globally harmonized labeling, authorities in Colombia, Ecuador, and Bolivia have received training from the industry on GHS implementation. As of now, Colombia and Ecuador are adopting this labeling.
Registration Update for Pesticides
CropLife Latin America, together with Procultivos in Colombia and CultiVida in Peru, are pushing regulatory authorities to implement a project to update the registration of pesticides when there are innovations in co-formulation. This could be due to a certain product being replaced by one that is more environmentally or health-friendly, or because the product is no longer manufactured and needs to be replaced by another.
Chile Foresees Regulatory Changes
In 2023, a public-private working group on agrochemical policies was established, while new guidelines for the reevaluation of agrochemicals and new regulations on pollinators are being analyzed.
Uruguay's Congress Analyzes Adherence to the PCT
The process of joining the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) is currently underway in the legislative branch. To date, 157 countries have adhered to this international agreement, which allows for patent applications to be filed.
Bolivia is Analyzing a Project on Biological Inputs
A new bill on Bioinputs is under study in the Congress of the Republic.
Registration of Bioinputs in Argentina
The National Service for Agri-Food Health and Quality (Senasa) in Argentina issued Resolution 1004/2023 regarding the registration of bioinputs. Additionally, the registration process is being modernized towards digitization.
Brazil has a New Law for Product Registration
At the end of 2023, Law 14.785/2023 was published, making Risk Assessment mandatory for the registration of new products and modifications in their use, thus providing greater legal certainty. The law also establishes the Unified System of Information, Petition, and Electronic Evaluation to streamline all processes. Some partial vetoes are still pending.
