Seymour will open the door to new access to agrichem products

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Primary sector leaders welcome news from ACT Leader David Seymour that major changes to New Zealand’s agrichemical approval processes are on the way. They could be in play within a year.

On taking over as Minister for Regulation, Seymour shifted his focus from childcare regulation to the next issue on his list, the Agricultural and Veterinary Medicines (ACVM) Act.

He announced a review that will also include the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act (HSNO), overseen by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

“Between ACVM and the EPA, New Zealand farmers have no access to products available overseas. They discover that they cannot get old products that companies have stopped producing, and new products are not approved here. It has become too difficult to get the tools we need.”
Delays in the approval of a fall armyworm control product last year and Bovaer methane-suppressing feed, both of which are available overseas, are being held up as two examples of chemical technology that have been delayed in delivery to the country.

Seymour said that once the terms of reference are developed and submitted to cabinet for approval, which could take six months, it will only be another six months before the rule changes become a reality.

“We did it with pseudoephedrine; I was surprised how quickly it was able to change.”
An independent Sapere report published earlier this year highlighted how far New Zealand lags behind the rest of the world in plant and animal treatment technologies.

Delivering a new product to a line now takes over three years, while in 2013 it took 400 days. This includes spending over 330 days in the “pre-apply” queue.

In 2021-2023, eight new product applications took 1,048 days compared to 14 applications which took 402 days in 2014.

Animal & Plant Health New Zealand chief executive Dr Liz Shackleton said association members had innovative products awaiting approval that would address some of agriculture’s biggest challenges, including responding to climate change and biosecurity breaches.

“These innovations don’t wait in a queue, they belong in the hands of our pioneering farmers, ranchers, biosecurity and conservation staff.

“This review gives us the opportunity to chart future paths. We look forward to working with our regulators and government to accelerate the approval of innovative products.

Dr Alison Stewart, chief executive of the Foundation for Arable Research, said she was not surprised by the announcement of the review, given the level of criticism expressed at the process in the Sapere report published in February.

“This is exactly what we need. There was quite a lot of talk about this in the media. “The industry was disappointed that the EPA did not respond more positively to the Sapere report.”

Michele Sands, strategy and policy manager at Hort NZ, said the EPA crop backlog was significant and was due to active efforts by New Zealand farmers to reduce their use of agrochemicals.

“Ironically, complex regulatory approval processes and EPA application backlogs prevent growers from accessing products that are more environmentally friendly, sustainable and have lower environmental impacts.”

She said if the government was going to pursue its vision of doubling New Zealand’s exports within 10 years, the ACVM and HSNO laws needed to be amended to give growers access to new tools.

Farmers’ Federation of Crops president David Birkett said fall armyworm may have become established in New Zealand and spread more easily because approval of recognized crop treatments has been too slow.

“Armyworm develops resistance to the limited treatment options available,” he said.

Meanwhile, Bovaer pet food, although currently only suitable for feeding, is now approved as safe for animals, the environment and consumers in 55 countries.

“But our farmers cannot benefit from this. After three years in our Environment Agency, the approval is stuck in New Zealand’s food safety processes.”

The review will be led by Assistant Agriculture Minister Andrew Hoggard and Environment Minister Penny Simmonds.

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Podcast in the spotlight: David Seymour turns his attention to rural bureaucracy

Bryan reports from National Fieldays, where there has been a flurry of government announcements, including from Regulation Minister David Seymour telling farmers he intends to cut red tape that stops them from doing what they do best. Agriculture will be the second sector the Ministry will look at, and Seymour says farmers will have the chance to point out obstacles they would like to see removed.