Glyphosate ban postponed

Marte Vega Román, president of CAADES:

He glyphosate it's a herbicide broad spectrum of systemic and total action in the elimination of weedswhich is used in most of the crops and in practically everything Mexico. Currently 120 countries use this tool with regulatory criteria for its appropriate use.

In the decree of December 31, 2020, the actions to replace this molecule were established with criteria that were mostly precautionary, this being one of the first acts of the agenda of environmental transitions promoted by the SEMARNAT for eliminate the use of highly toxic agrochemicals and change the regulatory framework for these products.

Also in this decree, in the sixth article, the bases were established to revoke the permissions of genetically modified cornwithout clarifying at the time whether it was for livestock use or human consumption.

The above aroused great controversy, especially among farmers in the United States where they saw a threat to exports of transgenic corn to Mexico. For this reason, the Federal Government decided to modify this decree on February 13, 2023, where the proposal to eliminate glyphosate was maintained, but it was clarified that the restriction on GMOs was focused on corn for livestock consumption and the deadline expired on the 31st. March 2024.

Derived from the above, contrary to what was expected, the controversy over transgenic corn increased since there was a threat that it was recommended to gradually replace imported corn for animal consumption with national production.

Due to the above, the Government of the United States together with Canada established a controversy within the framework of the T-MEC to define in a panel with technical bases whether the prohibition of transgenic corn was appropriate. It is estimated that this panel is in a position to make a decision. decision at the end of this year; with the understanding that instead of increasing corn production in Mexico, imports of yellow corn have increased to record levels where already this year a volume of around 22 million tons is estimated, representing 50 percent of consumption. total corn in our country, both human and livestock and industrial.

On the other hand, a week before April 1, which was the expiration date of the aforementioned decree, the Federal Government issued a statement recognizing that to date there are no viable substitutes for glyphosate, therefore the application of its prohibition without establishing a specific period.

More from CAADES:

The Confederation of Agricultural Association of Sinaloa (CAADES) was founded on November 28, 1932 under the Federal Law of Agricultural Associations and currently the Law of Agricultural Organizations of the State of Sinaloa. The President for the period 2019-2022 is Mr. Gustavo Rojo Plascencia. CAADES is a solid organization that represents more than 30 thousand small-holder producers throughout our entity through 11 Farmers Associations. The Confederation of Agricultural Associations of Sinaloa represents, groups, protects, promotes and defends the interests of agricultural producers in Mexico and abroad, without political or partisan purposes. With the market approach, we achieve certainty for the producer, permanence, profitability and competitiveness. CAADES is a union economic organization capable of promoting changes and agreements that the Mexican countryside demands.

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