Food Safety Minister Andrew Hoggard wants the queue of new agricultural and horticultural products waiting for approval to reduce by 20 percent by the end of June. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
The Ministers for the Environment and Food Safety have set targets to reduce the queues to approve new agricultural and horticultural products.
Cabinet has agreed to all sixteen of the recommendations from the regulatory review into the products, which was undertaken by the new Ministry for Regulation and supported by the Ministry for Primary Industries, New Zealand Food Safety, Ministry for the Environment and the Environmental Protection Authority.
The review, which was announced last June, intended to make it easier for farmers and growers to access new products like pesticides, inhibitors, feed and fertilisers.
Released in February, the review found that regulatory systems were effective in managing risks to human, animal and plant health, biosecurity and the environment, but that the approval path did not always enable efficient and timely access to the products.
Among its recommendations were updating the Environmental Protection Authority's risk assessment models, reducing efficacy requirements for inhibitors to the minimum required to manage risks and introducing targets to reduce product queues.
Access to the products is managed under the Agricultural Compounds and Veterinary Medicines (ACVM) Act and the Hazardous Substances and New Organisims (HSNO) Act.
Environment Minister Penny Simmonds said she had set a target to reduce the HSNO queue by 10 percent in 2025-26 and would set a more ambitious target once additional staff were appointed.
Food Safety Minister Andrew Hoggard said he wanted a 20 percent queue reduction for ACVM products by the end of June 2025, compared to October 2024. By the end of June 2026, he wanted to see queues reduce by a further 30 percent.
The review also called for the two systems to co-ordinate better by offering combined guidance and by sharing industry knowledge and technical expertise.
The ministers would be responsible for an Omnibus Bill to accelerate the improvements.
Minister for Regulation David Seymour said it was estimated that reducing the current approval timelines for new products by half could generate benefits of about $272 million over 20 years.
"The changes will speed up the application process, make it clearer and more transparent, and ensure existing international research is utilised," he said.
"The seeds of innovation are sown and it's officially the season for growth. The Minister for Food Safety and the Minister for the Environment will action these changes to streamline the product approval pathway. This means farmers and growers can utilise newer and better products faster."
The review was the second launched by the Ministry for Regulation following a review into early childhood education and preceding reviews into the hairdessing and barbering industry, and telecommunications.
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