Six months since the Ministry for Regulation’s review landed, the primary sector is still waiting for action on the ground. APHANZ has launched a powerful series of articles spotlighting the voices that matter—farmers, applicants, and R&D innovators—on why fixing the approvals process is urgent, what’s at risk, and how we can clear the runway for the tools that drive productivity, sustainability, and growth.
In February 2025, the Ministry for Regulation’s review of agricultural and horticultural product approvals confirmed what most in the primary sector have long known: the current regulatory system is not enabling timely access to innovation, including:
- Uncertainty and delays.
- Lack of strategic direction.
- Disproportionate, complex regulation.
- Underused tools to ensure proportionality.
- Gaps in regulator engagement and communication.
Cabinet prescribed 16 recommendations for regulatory system change. The Government is committed to change, and we welcome the Ministers’ commitment to setting targets for Agricultural Compounds and Veterinary Medicines (ACVM) and revising Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) targets. Legislative changes to the ACVM and HSNO Acts included in the Omnibus Bill are due to be presented to Cabinet, with public submissions later this year.
Acknowledging that legislative changes take time, industry needs to see tangible results now. Three outcomes matter - more access to new products, less red tape, meaningful collaboration.
Six months on, the reality on the ground is we continue to wait.
In the field
80% of farmers are urging Government to do more. Farmers, growers, and veterinarians have yet to gain access to new products they need to manage pests and fight diseases.
In the queue
Applicants report no significant change. They point to one EPA approval for a new active of relevance to the primary sector, moving apple growers one step closer to the first new blackspot tool in 18 years.
Success for our members in the next 12 months is seeing a steady stream of new active approvals moving out of the queue into the hands of farmers and growers.
Applicants continue to raise red tape concerns, for which there are immediate options to cut.
In the business world
R&D companies are reassessing their future. One of the world’s leading R&D companies has voted with their feet, they need outcomes, not promises to operate.
The recent decision by Bayer CropScience to exit its New Zealand crop protection field research station in Hastings exemplifies this. Other world leading R&D companies are saying they’ve lost confidence in the regulatory approvals process and declines in trial applications and product applications point to this.
Projects for grass grub, crown rot, nematodes, animal health vaccines, anthelminthics and other actives are being deprioritised to other countries. Other OECD countries will benefit, adopting safer, more effective technologies. Farmers need innovation, not delays.
Regulatory reform isn’t just a concern for multinationals—it’s a shared priority across our diverse membership, from farmers and growers to R&D innovators, rural retailers and end users of animal health and crop protection products, all of whom rely on a system that enables timely access, fosters innovation, and supports productivity and sustainability.
Without decisive action, New Zealand risks falling further behind in agricultural innovation—jeopardising environmental progress, export competitiveness, and the ability to meet sustainability goals.
APHANZ has published a series of articles with the voices that matter about why an efficient regulatory approval process is critical. Farmers, applicants, and R&D innovators provide their first-hand perspectives on what’s at stake, why change is urgent, and how we must clear the runway for the tools our primary sector needs to thrive.
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See related articles in this series:
Read One Voice - Clearing the regulatory runway for innovation to land.
If agriculture and horticulture are the engines of New Zealand’s economy, then innovation is the fuel—and regulation is the runway that enables it to take flight. But there’s a blockage on the runway for New Zealand’s primary sector ambitions - access to new animal and plant health products.
Read The Farmers voice: Calls to modernise the toolkit
Farmers and growers across the country are increasingly frustrated by ongoing delays in accessing new agricultural and horticultural products. They are urging action to access a broad toolkit of innovative products to manage pests and fight diseases.
Read The Innovators voice: Keeping R&D innovation in New Zealand.
New Zealand was once viewed as a world first market for global R&D companies, but not anymore. Many multi-national R&D companies say they have lost confidence in the approvals process for new trials and new products in New Zealand. They are looking at their future for operations and investment in New Zealand.
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