Visec Carne is not a certifier: it compiles public information from ARCA, the Ministry of Labor, INAI and SENASA data authorized by producers, with voluntary participation and at no cost, according to Gerardo Leotta. He estimates that only 4.5% would be excluded for deforestation after December 31, 2020.
The European Union's anti-deforestation regulation continues to raise doubts and resistance among Argentine cattle producers. Some warn of European interference in national legislation, others fear that tax and production information will be used to control their establishments, and there are also those calling for a firmer reaction from the Argentine government. Among the critics, producer and former official Santiago del Solar questioned Argentina's strategy toward the regulation and the Visec Carne platform.
In the face of those questions, Gerardo Leotta, a researcher at Conicet, advisor to the ABC Meat Exporters Consortium and coordinator of Visec Carne, explained how the platform works and defended its usefulness in keeping the European market open.
“Visec does not certify, it is not a certifier. What it does is compile information, systematize it and make it available to the main party involved in this dance, which is the importer,” he clarified. The explanation is relevant because European regulation 1115 does not establish a direct requirement for Argentina: it obliges the importer to demonstrate to EU authorities that the goods entering comply with the required conditions.
The platform brings together packing plants, rural organizations such as Sociedad Rural Argentina, Federación Agraria, Coninagro, livestock agents' chambers and other links in the chain. According to Leotta, it already has 57 importers, 38 packing plants, 30,000 producers and 450 livestock agents, with voluntary participation and at no cost to producers.
One of the main fears in the countryside is that Visec could become a tool for tax or commercial control. Leotta denied it and detailed that it uses public information from ARCA, the Ministry of Labor and the National Institute of Indigenous Affairs, in addition to SENASA data authorized by producers.
“We do not have access to cattle stock, we do not have access to prices, we do not set prices and we do not know the activity of those polygons either,” he assured. From SENASA they only receive geolocation and animal movements, and they also do not hand over information to the public agencies from which they take data.
Regarding the questions about Argentine legislation, he maintained that Europe is not imposing its own laws, but rather requires compliance with those of the country of origin. This includes labor, tax, environmental and natural area protection rules. “What the European Union is asking is that local laws be complied with,” he stressed.
Leotta also responded to producers in the north who fear being excluded because of vegetation management and forage control tasks. He assured that the specific requirement is not to have deforested after the cut-off date set by the regulation, December 31, 2020. According to his estimates, only 4.5% of cattle establishments would be left out for reasons linked to deforestation. He also explained that there are alternatives for farms with particular situations: the analyses can be reviewed and the delimitation of sub-polygons requested to identify which sectors are suitable for producing animals destined for Europe, even if another part of the establishment has restrictions.
He also rejected the idea that the country should respond by ceasing to sell meat to Europe, as some producers propose. “We have to expand. Europe is one of the main markets,” he maintained. He considered that each producer has the right to decide whether to supply that destination, but that the State must offer tools to those who do want to.
Lastly, he highlighted that Argentine authorities are requesting that the country be recategorized as low risk for deforestation, instead of standard risk. According to him, the Foreign Ministry and the Secretariat of Agriculture are working toward that goal. “I am convinced that it ends up being an opportunity for Argentina,” he concluded.
