Within the framework of Law No. 15.239 and its implementing decrees, it was established that the MGAP will require agricultural and livestock producers to submit a Responsible Soil Use and Management Plan (hereinafter "Use Plans"), taking into account the property's soils, management practices, crop sequence, and tolerable erosion.
Description
Together with other technical standards, these Use Plans aim to prevent water erosion of soils—the most significant environmental problem associated with agricultural and livestock production. This not only causes damage to the soil that erodes, but also to the landscape sites where sediments are deposited and to the aquatic ecosystems to which the soil is exported.
A pilot stage began in September 2010 on properties with cereal and oilseed cropping systems, and the mandatory submission phase started in April 2013, establishing a degree of gradualness in terms of area and production systems. The MGAP will continue this gradual process by incorporating properties with smaller agricultural areas and other production systems.
In this gradual process—in which agriculture remains the priority activity—dairy systems are being incorporated due to the significant area occupied by forage crops.
In turn, in 2013, the MVOTMA established an action plan to protect water quality in the Santa Lucía River basin, consisting of 11 measures. Among them, Measure 3—which, among other things—mandatorily requires all rural parcels located within that basin to control nutrient application by submitting Soil Use, Management, and Conservation Plans in the area (MGAP Decree 405/2008), and requires fertilization based on soil analysis to prevent the phosphorus concentration from exceeding 31 ppm of phosphorus (Bray 1).
On the other hand, the MVOTMA's action plan, in Measure 5, defines the mandatory treatment and management of effluents for all dairy farms located in the Santa Lucía basin. The MGAP has been working closely on this issue, and it is established that, in association with the Use Plans in dairy systems, the declaration of dairy farm effluent management is to be incorporated.
Thus, the MGAP established the mandatory submission of Use Plans in dairy systems within the Santa Lucía River basin.
Newsletter
Farms, ranches and investments across Uruguay.
