Regulatory Review Should Give Farmers Vital Tools, Faster - Federated Farmers

Federated Farmers are looking forward to less red tape and delay around approval processes for new agricultural and horticultural products.

In announcing a regulatory sector review at National Fieldays, Regulation Minister David Seymour said it can take years of wrangling to get approval for products already in use in other OECD countries.

"We’ve been pushing for change on this front for some time," Federated Farmers arable chair David Birkett says.

"We’re really pleased the Government is going to look into it, and we expect faster application timeframes to come out of it."

Fall armyworm controls and the methane-inhibiting feed additive Bovaer are just two examples of products approved overseas but denied to New Zealand farmers.

"Fall armyworm, an insect pest that can ravage more than 300 plant species, especially maize and sweetcorn, was able to establish and spread here more readily because approval for recognised control treatments was too slow," Birkett says.

"The armyworm is developing resistance to the limited treatment options available."

Bovaer is approved as safe for animals, farmers and consumers in more than 55 countries, including the EU, Australia, Canada and Switzerland.

"But our farmers can’t use it. After being held up by our Environmental Protection Agency for three years, approval is now stuck in New Zealand Food Safety processes.

"Farmers are being pushed to excel on biosecurity control, climate change and production fronts but red tape and inefficiency means ready access to the tools they need to meet these challenges is far too slow," Birkett says.

"As Food Safety Minister Andrew Hoggard noted at the review announcement, if our aim is to further increase primary product export revenue, it’s essential we iron out unnecessary regulatory overlap, costs and hold-ups."

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