This project, in gestation since 2002, was adopted by 301 votes against 150 and two abstentions and must still be approved by the Senate.

He is supported by far-right President Jair Bolsonaro who, since coming to power in 2019, has promoted several projects favorable to agriculture - a major player in the Brazilian economy - but much criticized by environmentalists.

The bill relaxes the rules for the use of pesticides in Brazil and gives the Ministry of Agriculture the power to authorize new products.

The current permitting process is more complex and requires input from multiple health and environmental agencies.

Environmental defense organizations warn against the risks they believe this text entails, since the impact of pesticides on human health and the ecosystem will no longer be assessed by the competent agencies before authorisation.

"They are releasing the poison to send it to our plates", alarmed the leader of the parliamentary opposition, Alessandro Molon, saying that the new law will have "irreversible" consequences for the health of Brazilians .

The Bolsonaro government "is choosing a model that makes people sick, deforests and kills", denounced the environmental organization Greenpeace.

Proponents of the project, for their part, argue that the new rules will increase production, reduce prices and guarantee food security in Brazil.

Brazil needs "defense measures (for its crops) just as it needs vaccines, which are also a remedy", said deputy Diego Andrade, of the Social Democratic Party, a formation which is part of the government coalition. by Mr. Bolsonaro.

© 2022 AFP