A panel of Brazil's Federal Regional Court of the 3rd Region (TRF3) has ruled unanimously that the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAPA) must, within 180 days, fully implement environmental restrictions that prohibit aerial spraying of three widely used neonicotinoid insecticides — imidacloprid, clothianidin and thiamethoxam — on all crops nationwide. The decision by the court's 4th Panel, reported by Brazilian agribusiness outlets on 16 and 17 September, also set a deadline for the environmental agency Ibama to finish its long-delayed re-evaluation of a fourth insecticide, fipronil.

The case (5021356-42.2021.4.03.6100) began as a public civil action by the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office seeking a nationwide ban on aerial application of the four active ingredients over risks to pollinators and rural workers. Ibama had completed its re-evaluations of imidacloprid and clothianidin in 2021 and thiamethoxam in February 2024, but the court found the agencies had shown 'qualified administrative inertia' in turning those conclusions into binding label and registration changes, only partial measures having been formalised through Administrative Acts 71/2022 and 56/2022.

Under the ruling MAPA has 180 days from publication to formalise the aerial ban and update labels and registrations; for fipronil, Ibama has up to 360 days to complete its assessment, after which MAPA has 90 more days to act on the findings. Aerial application of fipronil on foliage has been under a precautionary ban since 2012, which stays in place.

Neonicotinoids are among the most used insecticide classes in Brazilian row crops, applied against whiteflies, aphids and stink bugs in soybean, cotton and cereals, much of it by fixed-wing aircraft across the largest farming regions. An enforceable nationwide ban on aerial application would push growers and aerial contractors towards ground or drone application, or other chemistries for the aerial pass, within the compliance window once MAPA issues implementing rules.

The ruling does not restrict ground-based use of any of the four insecticides, and registered products remain legal to sell and apply by non-aerial methods while implementation proceeds; nor does it cancel any registration outright. It is at least the second major court intervention in Brazil's pesticide pipeline this month, after a Brasília labour court froze new glyphosate registrations for 90 days in early September.

Source: Global Agriculture