SENASA authorizes phytosanitary products for minor crops and pests under official control

The National Service of Agrifood Health and Quality (SENASA) established, through Resolution 869/2026, a procedure for granting administrative authorizations for the use of phytosanitary products in minor crops and uses, in pests under official control, and through new application methods. The measure was published in the Official Gazette on September 24, 2026, First Section (notice 347901), was signed on September 23, 2026, and comes into effect the day after its publication. The agency must respond to requests within a maximum period of 90 calendar days.

The resolution is issued within the framework of Law No. 27,233, which declares plant health to be of national interest and designates SENASA as the enforcement authority, and Decree-Law No. 3,489 of March 24, 1958, which subjects the sale of chemical or biological products for pest treatment to official control. The new framework is completed by Resolution No. 458/2025, amended by Resolution No. 843/2025, which approved the Manual of Procedures, Criteria, and Scopes for the authorization and registration of phytosanitary products and created the National Registry of Phytosanitary Products. The original file is EX-2026-92026079-APN-DGTYA#SENASA.

The text recognizes that, due to the reduced economic scale of productions typically identified as minor crops—legumes, vegetables, fruits, aromatics, and spices, among others—registering companies lack commercial incentive to process the expansion of use for products already registered, which leaves producers without legally available phytosanitary tools. Added to this is the territorial advance of migratory and transboundary pests in South America, which resulted in successive Phytosanitary Alerts and Emergencies.

Three authorization pathways

Article 2 defines the three scenarios covered by the administrative authorization of use:

• Minor crops or minor uses: use of products registered as definitive in the National Registry for pest control in other representative crops, when no current registered alternatives exist or these are of higher toxicity.
• Pests under official control: use intended exclusively for the control of a pest under official control, on an exceptional and circumstantial basis, of products registered without prior history in the country for that pest and its host crops.
• New application methods: use of products registered in the country through a technique for which they are not registered, according to the procedure in Annex IF-2026-92829906-APN-DNPV#SENASA.

Products in acute toxicity hazard Categories 1 or 2 of the Globally Harmonized System established by SENASA, or their equivalent according to the classification of the World Health Organization (WHO, 2009), are excluded.

Requirements, deadlines, and control

The procedure may be initiated by a reasoned decision of the National Directorate of Plant Protection (DNPV) or by a non-binding request from producer associations, chambers, cooperatives, national or provincial public bodies, universities, and research institutions, through the SIG-Trámites platform. For Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), Appendix 1 of the Annex applies.

• Article 5: requirements for definitive authorization, with justification of necessity, trials, agroecological conditions, and Maximum Residue Limits of the Codex Alimentarius.
• Article 6: temporary authorization valid for two years and a commitment to complete the pending information for its re-evaluation; otherwise, it will be canceled.
• Article 7: response from SENASA within a maximum of 90 calendar days from the time the file is complete.
• Article 8: the DNPV will publish and keep the lists updated on the agency’s official website.
• Article 9: the authorization is a palliative, temporary, and conditional tool; it does not generate acquired rights nor does it substitute ordinary registration.
• Article 10: producers, phytosanitary advisors, and applicators must use the products only according to the current lists.

The technical and scientific evaluation is the responsibility of the Directorate of Agrochemicals and Biologicals (DAyB), under the DNPV, considering toxicological and ecotoxicological background, the Globally Harmonized System classification, and the applicable maximum residue limits. Authorizations will be permanently reviewed and updated in the event of new scientific information, the registration of an equivalent product, or the detection of risks to human health, animals, or the environment.

Impact on regional economies

The regulation aims to resolve a structural problem in the sector: the lack of registered phytosanitary products for small-scale crops, which forced SENASA to issue specific resolutions with limited validity for each phytosanitary emergency. With a general and permanent procedure, producers of legumes, vegetables, fruits, aromatics, and spices gain access to pest control tools without waiting for the commercial decision of the registering companies, while the agency retains the power to review, restrict, or cancel each authorization.

Source: Official Gazette of the Argentine Republic, September 24, 2026, First Section (official reference: notice 347901, SENASA Resolution 869/2026).