Minor Use needs discussed for Horticulture

Following the cessation of Crop Protection Approvals in December 2003 there emerged a need for a new system to facilitate access to chemicals for minor uses by all horticultural industries. Recognising the need, Horticulture Australia (HAL) held a workshop in March to consider options for future facilitation. Participants at the workshop included representation from affected industries, APVMA, DAFF, State departments and research providers.

Workshop presentations were made by Trevor Doust of APVMA, Roger Toffolon of NSW Agriculture, Janine Clark of QFVG, Euan Laird from AusVeg and Jonathan Eccles of HAL.

Key to all of the discussions was the need to develop a system that encompassed a whole of industry approach to:

• meet the needs of industry for access to chemicals for minor uses (encompassing permits & registration),
• was cost effective,
• ensures the timely delivery of quality permit applications to the APVMA,
• maximises efficiencies and reduces duplication, and
• ensures requested chemicals are the most suitable option.

The general model that was agreed was for a two-stage process:
1. coordination of minor use requests, and
2. tendering and management of projects to gather data to support those requests

It was proposed that HAL contract a coordinator for minor use permit applications. This person (or company) would be responsible for facilitating analysis of industry needs; this could be done directly by the coordinator for some industries or through projects for larger industries. For those industries that fund projects for needs analysis, the Coordinator would still be involved in refinement of requests, albeit with information provided by the industry.
Following the needs analysis the Coordinator would consolidate requests by considering: like requests, requests from multiple industries for like chemicals, expert advice, input from manufacturers, determine availability of existing supporting data, Codex implications, and liaise with APVMA on data requirements. The coordinator will then prioritise applications within industry groups based on a set of agreed criteria.

The Coordinator will be evaluated to ensure they are capturing all the synergies needed within the process and to ensure that the system is not too complex and there is flexibility by industry.

The coordination position will have no role in the generation of data to support minor use requests. At the point where data requirements are identified, the coordinator will compile project briefs for tender by HAL. Tenders will only be accepted by persons or organisations that have no ties to the coordinator to prevent conflicts of interest.

A proposal for funding of the coordinator position will be provided to the next meeting of the HAL Industry Management Committee.

For further information contact:
Dan Ryan, Horticulture Australia
Phone : 02 8295 2327 Email: Dan.Ryan@Horticulture.com.au