New CEO for wood processors
Mark Ross has started in his new role as chief executive of the Wood Processors and Manufacturers Association of NZ (WPMA).
The increasing threats of pesticide resistance are one reason why that is important, says Mark Ross, chief executive of Agcarm, the organisation representing agri-chemical manufacturers and distributors.
His organisation hopes current application times of up to six month for new products could be reduced to less than one third of that. This would be good news for New Zealand farming and horticulture, Ross told Rural News.
“It will be good for the agricultural industry if we can speed up the process. There were over 100 applications due for processing back in April so they have a lot of catch-up to do,” Ross says.
The drawn out processing by the agricultural compounds and veterinary medicines (ACVM) group at MPI has caused uncertainty and delay in getting products to market, including those with ‘softer’ chemistries, Agcarm says.
The ACVM group has a crucial role in providing modern technology to farmers and growers. The uncertainty about timelines adds significant cost to manufacturers.
MPI and Agcarm have agreed to an 11% increase in processing fees, and MPI will employ two extra staff – one each for veterinary medicines and agricultural chemicals. The proposal has received Cabinet approval and the fee increase will apply from July 1, the new staff joining immediately.
Ross says processing times for new applications are now set at 40 days after pre-screening by MPI, plus one-two weeks to receive documentation. That adds up to about 60 days. “Reports from our manufacturing members suggest applications are [now] taking six months plus, hence the desire for Agcarm to support cost recovery in light of MPI recruiting more staff to speed up the processing times.”
Ross says there are no penalties if timeframes are not met by MPI. “Hence Agcarm is keen to see more accountability from MPI in the way of performance indicators and reports on progress.
“We are working through that with MPI now. They are agreeable to working in a better way with industry and keeping us updated on what is happening on the basis we are paying more money to get the application processed.
“MPI needs to get new staff and get them up to speed on the processes but the long term intention is to get products to market quicker – to get better products for use in New Zealand to market more quickly.
“Also there is resistance building to pesticides so there are other products that will work just as effectively. Pesticide resistance is becoming an issue.”
Agcarm in late May held a workshop on pesticide resistance attended by at least 70 from the agricultural sector. “It is still not a major problem in New Zealand but it could be if strategies aren’t put in place to correct it,” Ross says. “That was the idea of the workshop – education, making sure people use products to label rates, use a mixture of products and don’t use the same product from year to year. All those messages need to get out there.”
Agcarm is planning a strategic drive on resistance management, including getting new products to market.
“Farmers are the ones who use the products, the fungicides, herbicides and insecticides, and we need to make sure they know what they are doing and give some guidance, which [the product packs have], but it doesn’t seem to be getting out there.”
Farmers, orchardists, vegetable growers and grain growers need education on resistance management, that it could be a problem in the future and how to avoid it, Ross says.
The lack of a structured process is the main barrier to getting the message out. Volunteers through the science community and the industry are doing their bit. But the government is not much involved yet and there needs to be better coordination between the industries and the government, Ross says.
