Farming
- Government aims to speed up approval of agricultural and horticultural products to boost productivity.
- Review recommends halving approval times, potentially saving $272 million over 20 years.
- Industry welcomes changes but urges swift action to rebuild confidence in the system.
The Government has announced plans to cut red tape for agricultural and horticultural products, aiming to speed up approvals and boost productivity. Regulation Minister David Seymour, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds, and Food Safety Minister Andrew Hoggard have released the Ministry for Regulation’s recommendations to streamline processes for key farming products like veterinary medicines and agrichemicals.
“HSNO and ACVM products used to manage animals and plants like veterinary medicines and agrichemicals are absolutely critical for farmers and growers. Technological developments in these products can be the difference between surviving, or thriving,” Mr Seymour says.
According to Seymour, some farmers and growers have faced delays of over five years in getting new products approved by the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) and the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI). “That’s completely unacceptable and it’s costing the economy millions in lost productivity,” he says.
The Government’s plan aims to cut approval times, with the review estimating that halving these wait times could generate $272 million in benefits over 20 years.
“Faster access to new products for farmers and growers will lift primary sector productivity and growth,” Seymour says.
Cabinet has accepted all 16 recommendations from the review, which include setting targets to speed up assessments, increasing the use of rapid approval pathways, using international regulators’ assessments to save time, and updating outdated risk assessment models.
Minister for the Environment Penny Simmonds says the EPA has already started making improvements. “This has included looking to appoint additional staff in the hazardous substances applications area, creating a prioritisation framework for the approval queue and developing new group standards for low-risk hazardous substances,” she says.
Minister for Food Safety Andrew Hoggard adds that MPI is already working on implementing many of the recommendations. “Eight out of the 13 recommendations that are applicable to MPI are already in progress or can start now,” he says.
The review was conducted from August to December 2024 to address concerns that regulatory burdens were harming New Zealand’s international competitiveness.
Animal and Plant Health NZ has welcomed the Government’s commitment to streamlining access to agricultural and horticultural products.
“New Zealand’s primary sector needs to get these vital products out of the approval queue and into the hands of farmers and growers,” says Chief Executive Dr Liz Shackleton. She adds that the industry is pleased to have been heard and that the report confirms concerns about long approval times and high costs.
“The real test will be how quickly regulators can ‘turn the ship around’ and implement the recommendations,” she says, stressing the importance of collaboration with regulators to ensure rapid progress.
Animal and Plant Health NZ Board Chair Gavin Kerr highlights the need for ambitious targets to cut approval queues. “Our members want to see these targets and the plan to implement them as soon as possible because that’s what will move the dial,” he says.
However, Kerr warns that confidence in the system will only be restored when there is a steady flow of approvals rather than the current slow trickle. He also calls for an independent review of cost recovery to ensure fairness.
“This announcement brings hope for our members that farmers and growers will get their hands on the products they need within reasonable timeframes. The challenge now is to turn that hope into reality,” he says.