More than $1 million of assistance grants have been allocated to horticulture commodities under the Federal Government’s Improved Access to AgVet Chemicals programme.

Growcom CEO, Pat Hannan, said it was pleasing to see so many horticulture commodities receiving the grants including pineapples, blueberries, mandarins, mangoes, bananas, papaya, passionfruit, stonefruit, avocados, custard apples and a range of vegetable commodities.

“Horticulture Innovation Australia (Hort Innovation) should also be congratulated for their role in developing the applications for these important chemical products,” he said. “The $1.6 million investment under the Improved Access to AgVet Chemicals initiative will help fast-track new products and allow existing chemicals to be approved for wider uses, giving farmers more options to fight pests, weeds and diseases.”

“Australia is a relatively small market, which can sometimes mean the cost involved in registering an agvet chemical here makes the venture uncommercial. This funding will bridge the gap by helping our producers to access the same innovative agvet chemicals as some of their international competitors.”

Hannan said it was wrong to think that improving access to chemicals was about a laissez-faire approach, which would expose people and the environment to harmful products. “By law in Australia, any chemical product used for agriculture must be registered with the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) which is only possible after scientific evidence has proved that the chemical is safe both to humans and the environment.”

“Improved chemical access means our growers can have access to sophisticated, highly targeted and more environmentally friendly chemicals developed in recent years. It also means that more investment levy funds are available to develop holistic solutions such as Integrated Pest Management rather than sinking money into the merry-go-round of minor use permits.”

The grants programme is part of the Federal Government’s $8 million investment package into improving access to agvet chemicals. Other initiatives include the development of a collaborative forum to streamline chemical access and reduce duplication, and a regulatory reform programme.

Growcom said that it has been an active advocate for improved access to chemicals for many years and is a member of the Australian Government’s Access to AgVet Chemicals advisory committee.

In the lead up to the federal election, Hannan called on all parties to commit to ongoing funding for the collaborative forum and to maintaining the momentum on regulatory reform.

A full list of the successful horticulture applicants can be found on the Hort Innovation website: http://horticulture.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/grants-list.pdf