Disembarga Mato Grosso | Max News

Everyone knows that the state of Mato Grosso is the champion in agricultural production, being the largest producer of soybeans, corn and cotton. With expressive numbers, Mato Grosso agribusiness presented, according to IBGE data, the highest value of agricultural production in previous years. In 2022, the state’s production generated R$174.8 billion, an increase of 15.2%.

Even though it generates wealth for the state, agribusiness finds it difficult to continue producing and growing. One of the difficulties comes from control and inspection bodies, such as SEMA – MT, State Secretariat for the Environment of Mato Grosso.

SEMA-MT has long adopted zero tolerance towards deforestation and irregular activities, and this is how it should be, anyone who does not comply with the law must be held responsible.

The problem is that for every infraction notice issued by SEMA/MT, a Term of Embargo on the activity, if not on the property, is practically issued.

The environmental embargo is a penalty applied by the administration, through the environmental agency, in the case of Mato Grosso by SEMA. The objective of this penalty is to prevent a degrading activity from continuing in progress, as well as to allow the regeneration of the environment and enable the recovery of the destroyed area.

The consequences of the environmental embargo for the owner of the area are several, such as restricting the use of the area, preventing cultivation, raising animals or constructing buildings. However, the worst of all consequences is imposed by the market, where the embargoed area negatively and directly affects production, and therefore, sales and resale of products.

Many times, the embargoed area is minimal in relation to the total productive area of ​​the property, however, the sanction imposed by the market works as a negative record for the producer, who is unable to purchase inputs or sell his production.

As if the problem caused by the environmental embargo were not enough, the producer, in many cases, responds to civil investigations by the state Public Prosecutor’s Office, without first analyzing the environmental administrative process. And many of these inquiries have resulted in an astonishing increase in public civil actions brought by the Public Ministry, almost always without prior investigation.

On the other hand, to promote the release of the area or activity, the producer is required to approve the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR). Here lies the problem, because on average, the analysis of the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR) goes from year to year, sometimes resulting in legal action against SEMA – MT for it to analyze the registry.

The Rural Environmental Registry (CAR) is necessary, but its analysis cannot take more than a year. The word registry means a set of pertinent data on people or entities that are users or beneficiaries of an institution. Well, then, in reality, the registration would just be the delivery of data on the area and the producer, right? It should be, but SEMA/MT, to approve the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR), has to analyze the data provided, and here it is highlighted that local legislation requires it.

In this way, it is not a registration but a license, grant or something similar, as it requires analysis of the data provided by the producer.

The state of Mato Grosso could better equip the analysis sector of the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR), hire more staff, but, even so, we would be distorting the registry and its essence.

It is necessary to create environmental regularization policies, in a way that allows SEMA/MT to check the data and not judge them. Thus, as is done with Georeferencing, which previously also depended on analysis by the public body (INCRA) and today it is done with the presentation of relevant information and its approval is almost automatic.

It is necessary for the state of Mato Grosso to establish rules that make the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR) more agile, so that only the provision of data is allowed, with the consequent punishment of the technical responsible for the eventual provision of false or divergent information.

Only with the creation of new rules will the state of Mato Grosso allow the release of so many producers who require environmental regularization, so that they can maintain the superlative numbers of our production.

Gustavo Carrara is a lawyer in Mato Grosso and the Federal District.

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