The phenomenon of agrotoxic smuggling on the northwest front of Rio Grande do Sul and impacts

Abstract

The present work is justified by the growing smuggling of illegal pesticides in the Northwest region of the State of Rio Grande do Sul, on the border between Brazil and Argentina, which are made available to farmers for use, through a criminal articulation structured at the national level (transport by highways and roads) and international (crossing of pesticides across borders, both through dry areas and rivers), also observed by this author in his work as a Federal Highway Police officer stationed at the Federal Highway Police Station in Ijuí/RS, including participating in many of these seizures. Therefore, this study aimed to alert society, raise awareness and raise awareness about the practice of the crime of smuggling pesticides and the resulting economic impacts, when there is unfair competition with those regularly sold in the country and tax evasion for the practice of crime, and mainly, in what we consider to be the most important and serious point, due to the potential risks involved both for human health and for the environment (water, soil, fauna and flora). The scope of this work is structured so that we can contextualize the theme, by bringing some relevant considerations about the history of the use of pesticides and the importance of agriculture for the country and the state of RS; identify some of the impacts of these behaviors on the economy, human health and the environment; as well as presenting some suggestions for ways of coping with the problem.