By Richard Rennie & Eric Frykberg
Farming industry leaders are welcoming a government move to overhaul legislation it says hampers New Zealand agriculture’s ability to keep pace with the rest of the world.
The Agricultural Compounds and Veterinary Medicines (ACVM) Act and the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms (HSNO) Acts are to be streamlined and bought into line with regulations used by other countries.
The announcement came from the three ministers involved in the process – Regulation Review Minister David Seymour, Minister for the Environment Penny Simmonds and Minister for Biosecurity and Food Safety Andrew Hoggard.
“Right now, there are too many delays, and the process is too complex,” said Seymour.
“It stops farmers and growers from getting access to products that have been approved by other OECD countries.
“One business I visited recently described the current process as like being in the ice-cream queue behind a family of 13, because all applications, changes and new products are in the same line.
“It all just takes too long.”
Gavin Kerr, president of Animal and Plant Health NZ, welcomed the ministers’ announcement, which includes the terms of reference for the review.
“This review marks a significant step in our efforts to work with regulators to streamline processes and to enhance competitiveness in our sector,” he said.
“The review aims to find a balance between efficient regulation and the need for access to new technologies and innovations that will keep our industry globally competitive.”
Kerr echoed a longstanding issue the sector has had with delays.
Alison Stewart, CEO of the Foundation for Arable Research, said it was a good move and anything that streamlines the registration system for crop treatments would be a benefit for all players.
She had earlier expressed disappointment that the Environmental Protection Authority did not respond more positively to a report that was critical of delays in getting new treatment products approved.
These had drifted from taking 400 days to approve 14 applications in 2014 to only eight applications for new products between 2021-13, taking 1048 days.
The review’s terms of reference covers things like enabling access to products, while ensuring risks of products are known and appropriately managed, whether they affect human or animal health or the environment.
The review will look at individual regulatory systems from the viewpoint of those trying to seek approvals through them, and to understand what problem is being addressed by the regulation, and whether the regulatory systems are achieving their stated purpose.
Any findings will be benchmarked against comparable international regulators and international best practice.
The review will also look at the often-controversial overlap between the HSNO and ACVM regulatory systems.
“Although the remit of the two regulatory systems differ, the majority of the products covered by the ACVM regulatory system are also captured by the HSNO regulatory system,” the terms of reference say.
Federated Farmers arable chair David Birkett said farmers will be very pleased to see the overhaul underway.
“We have been pushing for this for a while. We want to see NZ farmers on a level playing field with the rest of the world for accessing the best possible animal and crop treatments.”
He said because NZ is a small market that has proven difficult for chemical companies to get approval in, many have abandoned efforts to continue trying to market new products here.
“We hope now that this will give them motivation to re-enter the NZ market.”
Plant and Food Research’s chief scientist Dr Richard Newcomb said many agri systems are transitioning from chemical to biological solutions, offering more sustainable approaches for controlling pests and diseases.
“While we can develop some of our own biological solutions here in NZ, many are being developed overseas and will need to be imported for use in NZ.
“Making sure our regulatory pathway is fit for purpose is vital in protecting our unique ecosystems from harm while ensuring we have the best tools available to grow food sustainably.”
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