Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Cultivating 'Clean' Tomatoes

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct 14 2006 (IPS) - Brazil can already produce tomatoes without agro-chemical residues, through Tomatec, a production technique that was tested in the planting of 12,000 tomato plants in Sao José do Ubá, near Rio de Janeiro. Analysis concluded in September proved the purity of the tomatoes, a crop that is usually heavily treated with pesticides.

“Tomatec combines integrated management of pests, drip irrigation, and sacks to cover the flowering branches,” José Ronaldo Macedo, coordinator of the technique for the government's agricultural research agency EMBRAPA, explained to Tierramérica.

The method does use agro-chemicals, but 60 percent less than conventional cultivation, and only before the plants flower. It reduces the loss of fruit to one percent, conserves water and prevents soil erosion.

Although the cost of production is increased 20 percent, it will tend to decline in the future, assures Macedo.