T
he three southern Brazilian
states join forces toward the
question of sanitation in ap-
ple orchards, concentrated
in this region, in order to re-
inforce the priority directed to this area. At
an event that took place in Chapecó (SC),
on June 13, 2017, the participants signed
the resolution that creates the Interstate Po-
miculture Sanitation Committee (Cisp), an
initiative of the sector and a conquest that
deservespraise,asitgathersstrengthforfun-
damental demands, according to the Brazil-
ianAssociationof AppleProducers (ABPM).
The suggestion to create the committee
was presented at the Apple Technical Work-
shop held in late April 2016 in Fraiburgo (SC),
withitsmaingoalconsistingingivingpriorityto
publicpoliciesfocusedonthesanitarystatusof
appleorchards.Thegroupcomprisesrepresen-
tativesfromtheStateSecretariatsofAgriculture
of the States of Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do
SulandParaná,fromfarmers’associations(the
Brazilian ABPM and the following associations
ofthesamekind:Agapomi,AmapandFrutipar)
andstateandfederalresearchorganizations.
The secretaries of the sector inRioGrande
do Sul, Ernani Polo, in Santa Catarina, Mo-
acir Sopelsa and in Paraná, Norberto Ortig-
ara, took part in the creation, along with Neri
Geller, agricultural policy secretary at theMin-
istry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Sup-
Three states in the South take a
positionattheInterstatePomicultureSanitationCommitteeand
reinforcethepriorityforquestionsrelatedtothisarea
Healthy
union
ply (Mapa). Polo attested that “the commit-
tee makes it possible to work jointly towards
keeping the sanitary status of the orchards
and surmount the existing problems”, while
Geller ratified that the integration move is in
linewith the recommendationof theministry,
which consists in enhancing the quality of the
fruitandwinmarketconfidence.
“It was a historical day”, in the evalua-
tion of ABPM executive officer Moisés Lopes
de Albuquerque, who represented the entity
on the occasion, as he understands that the
committeeplaysa relevantrolewhen it deals
with the serious threats the sector is subject
to in the phytosanitary plan, due to imports.
“Therefore, by joining three states where
temperate climate fruit farming prevails,
when it comes to dealing with phytosanitary
questions, it is extremely important, either
for the technical character, qualification and
standardization in thedebates, or for thepo-
litical character, of gaining priority in govern-
ment actions”, theofficial concludes.
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