Bioinputs and organic production in Brazil: a study based on the Embrapa’s Bioinsumos application1

Abstract

ABSTRACT The use of bioinputs has been intensified in conventional and organic systems. In Brazil, the National Bioinputs Program was instituted to enhance their production and use in crops, and the Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (Embrapa) launched the Bioinsumos (bioinputs) application, containing the bioproducts registered by the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply. This study aimed to identify the classes and number of bioinputs for phytosanitary control included in the Embrapa’s Bioinsumos application with authorized use for the organic agriculture in the country. There are 526 bioinputs for the phytosanitary control of several pests and diseases in various agricultural crops, which are divided into eleven classes, of which only two do not have bioproducts for organic agriculture: microbiological bactericide and pheromone. Despite the number of bioinputs for organic agriculture, in practice, their use is still reduced, what may be related to limited financial resources, lack of knowledge of their existence and the ways of using them. Thus, it is necessary a greater incentive and public guidance for the development of bioinputs with greater accessibility for rural producers, especially for those who work with organic agriculture.