MinAgricultura and ICA will issue a resolution, if will give one year to find a replacement for the pesticide.
The Ministry of Agriculture and the Colombian Agricultural Institute, ICA, announced that a resolution will be issued that will prohibit the registration and definitive use of pesticides that have fipronil as an active ingredient. This decision was made in the technical table formed to comply with the judgment of the Court of Cundinamarca that ordered to advance actions in favor of pollinators.
The resolution is based on the technical study carried out by Agrosavia that determined that fipronil is an insecticide whose indiscriminate use has caused the death of bees and the disappearance of hives, which are crucial to maintain the balance in ecosystems given its fundamental role in the pollination of plants. The investigation showed that Quindío, Huila, Cundinamarca, Meta and Cesar are the departments in which the most bee deaths have been reported in the last year.
“Bees play a valuable role, because we need dynamic agriculture. In this transition we must make sustainable agriculture with actions and good practices. This is the commitment for the beekeeping sector to be in the place it deserves in the entire production chain and make the country a world power in food production”, said Minister Cecilia López Montaño.
The official reiterated the agreement she signed with the Julius Kühn Institute, from Germany, to advance scientific research and cooperation to promote the protection of pollinators, given their importance in agricultural production.
For her part, María del Pilar Ruiz Molina, general manager (e) of ICA, said that “the issuance of this resolution has a very important impact for the development of a more productive, equitable and environmentally friendly field. We will have a 12-month period to discuss replacement alternatives and the depletion of existing inventories of products that contain this active ingredient and are marketed in the country.”
At the technical table it was said that there are different alternatives to the insecticide fipronil to be analyzed for a year and thus offer options to growers.
Luis Domingo Gómez, plaintiff of the lawsuit, celebrated the decision and stressed that the resolution is “supported by irrefutable scientific evidence that mainly benefits pollinators and, consequently, the health of people and future generations.”