International data forecasting rapid future growth in sales of biological crop protection products underscores the role they will play in growers moving to ‘lighter touch’ growing practices.
Data presented at the 2024 Biologicals Summit in Salinas, California, showed sales of biological products globally is two to three times faster than conventional chemistry’s growth rate, and biologicals are predicted to overtake synthetic chemistry sales by 2040.
For both synthetic and biological products the agricultural and horticultural sector has expressed concerns about the pace to get crop protection products registered in New Zealand. The innovation and growth occurring with biological products, which supports a lighter approach to crop protection, underscores the need to seek efficiencies in the regulatory process in order to improve access to biological products for growers.
Facilitating improvement of the regulatory pathway is a key objective of the A Lighter Touch (ALT) programme. Given the importance of improving access to biopesticides, ALT has begun a review of international regulatory processes with the goal of exploring solutions to help ease access to these products in New Zealand.
An international researcher, with experience of regulatory processes in a range of countries, including New Zealand, is carrying out the knowledge review, and will make recommendations on how findings from that review could be implemented into the current New Zealand regulatory process.
A Lighter Touch programme manager Sarah Sorensen says both New Zealand regulatory bodies, the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) and NZ Food Safety (NZFS), which is responsible for Agricultural Compounds and Veterinary Medicines (ACVMs), have been briefed on the project and its purpose, and are very supportive of the work A Lighter Touch is undertaking.
“The aim of this work is to support EPA and NZFS in considering new systems and processes that will help make registration of biological products more efficient in New Zealand, enabling our growers to gain access to more sustainable crop protection solutions.”
In developing the research brief, A Lighter Touch sought input from industry, iwi and crop protection companies, as well as EPA and NZFS. The project has also been discussed with the Ministry for Regulation to ensure A Lighter Touch was not duplicating work the Ministry was undertaking as part of its Agricultural and Horticultural Products Regulatory Review.
“What we want from this knowledge review is to understand what a good, timely and efficient regulatory pathway for biologicals could potentially look like, and how these findings could be implemented into the New Zealand regulatory pathway.
“We’re looking for new systems and processes that would benefit all involved, including government, registrants and growers, while protecting the environment,” Sarah says.
“We want to see a New Zealand registration pathway for biological crop protection products, which becomes desirable and encourages development of new technologies to support our growers.”
The knowledge review is expected to be completed by the middle of 2025, following which recommendations will be discussed with EPA and ACVM.
