As the ACVM Amendment Bill moves through Parliament, the voices of those living with the consequences of delay — vets, growers, farmers and the companies who supply their tools — make clear why reform of New Zealand’s agricultural and horticultural products framework matters now more than ever.
As APHANZ reflects over the last 18 months since the Ministry for Regulation review, there are many reasons support for reform intent remains strong.
Pets denied cancer treatment and pain relief already standard in Australian clinics. Sick laying hens down to one viable antibiotic. Farmers and growers fighting pests and managing diseases with yesterday's tools. This is New Zealand right now.
APHANZ’s pulse check undertaken in February 2026 of the R&D companies who develop, manufacture and supply the tools to power our primary sector also agree.
- 62.5% have made decisions not to progress or proceed with R&D in New Zealand.
- 82.0% cited delays in the process had influenced their company’s global decision to invest.
- 75.0% said New Zealand was less attractive for launching new innovation based on regulatory performance.
In July last year, in a Farmers weekly poll eighty percent of farmers said Government isn't moving fast enough.
New Zealand veterinarians and their patients are calling for access to new and existing animal medicines that are already used across the Tasman and other comparable countries. These include everything from pain relief, anaesthetics and cancer treatments to medicines for cats with kidney disease and equine treatments for ulcers, colic and more.
The World Vet Association has a published list of essential antibiotics for poultry vets. NZ has access to only nine of those, according to poultry vets that spoke with APHANZ. Poultry vets warn that New Zealand’s commercial flocks are now down to a single viable antibiotic to treat a flock of sick laying hens. With other registered options impractical or unusable — leaving sick birds at real risk of having no treatment at all.
Mealybugs are one of the pests that can damage grapes. Growers are looking for new active ingredients to tackle pests while supporting strict overseas market access requirements. Afidopyropen is a new active ingredient for New Zealand to control mealybugs in grapes. A company first explored bringing it here in 2019 and approval is still to come. Since then, this active has been approved and used in the US, Canada, and Australia.
Grass grub makes it harder to grow enough grass to feed farm animals. AgResearch studies indicate grass grub’s impact on the pastoral sector ranges from $300 million to $815 million a year in lost pasture production. Chlorpyrifos was an insecticide widely used to control grass grub but will no longer be available following an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) decision. An alternative treatment diazinon is also scheduled for phase-out by 2028. This highlights the urgent need for new products in the farmer’s toolkit to manage grass grub.
Voices from the ground are loud and clear that the stakes are higher than ever:
Respondents to APHANZ pulse check Feb 2026
“Timeframes are a significant factor for making investment decisions. Additional metrics being added to the process which will make it even harder - NZ is being seen as not attractive at all for investment.”
“NZ is a poster boy example of what not to do and how not to do things. Word from global office is NZ may not get new products altogether because it’s the hardest country in the world to do business.”
“We are factoring in delays even before making business decisions i.e. don’t even bring the business case up for NZ.”
Farmers calls to modernise the toolkit
“New and safer and more effective biologicals and synthetics have not been allowed to be accessed in New Zealand, despite their use in similar jurisdictions/countries – this brings unnecessary risk, stress and cost to our people and businesses.”
Brendan Balle
“We are seriously considering our future as the toolbox is near on empty to help with growing healthy vegetables for New Zealand. Hugely concerning is the fact that a number of chemistries/biologicals that can solve certain disease/insect problems have been in the approval process for years.”
Kirin Makan
“As a vegetable grower, my success is hinged on having the best tools in my toolbox. At the moment, I am frustrated, bordering on anger, that I don’t have access to the best chemistry available to growers overseas.”
Bharat Jivan
“We need more new age and safer product options to better manage these risks and deliver affordable, quality food to our customers.”
Brent Wilcox
The R&D perspective from global suppliers
“Global suppliers are dealing with far more complex, fast moving supply chains and need to pivot quickly. Bigger markets are easier to engage with when those decisions are being made. For New Zealand, mutual recognition isn’t about lowering standards - it’s about reducing friction, so we don’t become too hard to deal with as global product and investment decisions are made offshore.”
Darryl Stretton, Farmlands
“When products are already approved by trusted regulators like the EU, we should be able to rely on that work. It reduces risk for New Zealand, avoids duplicated effort, frees ACVM to focus on higher‑value priorities, and delivers faster, lighter and more cost‑effective approvals. In a global disruption, that’s exactly the kind of resilience our sector needs.”
Sam Higgins, MSD Animal Health
Innovators calling to keep R&D innovation New Zealand
“Regulatory delays must be fixed - it is disappointing that farmers and growers are going to lose access to good world leading technology”.
Syngenta, who have avoided registering new actives in New Zealand to control grass grub, fall armyworm, crown rot, fusarium and nematodes due to delays in the regulatory approval system.
“The current operating environment and regulatory landscape in NZ make it challenging to justify the company’s time and the expense required to commence research projects that introduce pipeline products.”
Bayer CropScience, who closed its New Zealand crop protection field research station in Hastings after 64 years in 2025.
“We believe that regulatory capacity constraint is impacting all innovative product companies. A number of other countries have already overtaken New Zealand and are now getting access earlier than New Zealand. As a result, farmers in these countries have faster access to the newest innovative chemistries and biological solutions, often several years before their New Zealand counterparts.”
Corteva, a world leader in modern chemistry and biologicals and world class R&D facility in New Plymouth.
“When speaking with our global regulatory teams now, their view is New Zealand is seen to be competing to be the slowest country. The logjam had just got larger and larger over many years. It’s at the stage where it needs serious surgery.”
Sipcam, Italian R&D company who direct much of their global R&D budget to biologicals and soft chemistry – including products with direct relevance to NZ agriculture.
Right now, R&D companies say New Zealand is striking out – they are no longer stepping up to the plate. Innovation is leaving quietly, and increased costs will come loudly: borne by growers, with flow on impacts on productivity, and the long‑term resilience of our food system.
Animal and Plant Health New Zealand (APHANZ) is calling on Parliament to hold the line and support reforms that will deliver to the intent of the Ministry for Regulation review backed by Cabinet.
New Zealand has been here before. At the heart of every change isn't machines or science. It's people, reacting. New Zealanders will be watching the choices made in the coming year – will it be comfort, or care?
Risks and mistakes shape us. New Zealand has scar tissue, like every small exporting nation that's been burned before, stiffening to protect but setaling our ability to bend. Chasing zero risk can feel like safety but moves the risk somewhere quieter — onto the sick pet with no treatment, the farmer with no options, the vet who has to say no.
This is not about lowering standards or getting a free pass – we all want the same outcome – a proportionate, transparent, timely and certain approval pathway that gets innovation and a broad toolkit for farmers, growers, and vets so they can support NZ’s goals for growth, sustainability while safeguarding robust risk assessment, animal, human health and our environment.
"Zero risk isn't possible. Armour worn out of fear still leaves someone unprotected. Cabinet endorsed 16 recommendations made in the Ministry for Regulation report on review of the regulatory approval process for agricultural and horticultural products.
The ACVM has just passed it’s second reading with a vote of 98 in favour and 18 opposed. This shows the cross-party support to do what’s needed to keep our animals healthy and crops thriving. Now it’s time to finish the reform as intended by Cabinet.
New Zealanders are watching – will it be zero risk, or zero options."
Dr Liz Shackleton, APHANZ Chief Executive
Comments are closed.