
Charting a new course
How the pome- and stone-fruit industry can adapt to losing crop protectants. By Anna Mouton.
“The crop-protection industry spends a lot of time selecting products with favourable toxicological and environmental profiles,” said Marius Boshoff, managing director of Villa Crop Protection.
While he recognises that human health and environmental safety are critical, Boshoff pointed out that regulators now take a precautionary approach that prioritises safety. This has resulted in the banning of CMRs — any products that may act as carcinogens, mutagens, or reproductive toxins.
Act 36 of 1947 regulates fertilisers, farm feeds, agricultural remedies, and stock remedies in South Africa. The Registrar under Act 36 notified the agricultural industry of his intention to ban certain CMRs in 2022.
“The crop-protection industry got together to create a CMR working group,” recalled Boshoff. The group obtained inputs from agricultural stakeholders, including Hortgro, to compile a list of affected products with essential uses and to identify suitable alternatives.
Where alternatives were available, a protocol was developed to fast-track their registration. Where not, the working group prioritised applying for renewal or derogation — an exemption from or relaxation of the law. Renewals without a derogation were only allowed until 1 June 2024.
The affected active ingredients relevant to the pome- and stone-fruit industry are the fungicides mancozeb, benomyl, propiconazole, flusilazole, and carbendazim; the herbicide glufosinate-ammonium; and the insecticide thiacloprid. The Registrar may also ban some co-formulants.
Boshoff reassured growers that they need not be overly concerned about this list. “If you look at those actives, you’ll recognise that many of them have already had defaulted maximum residue limits for many years,” he said. “From that perspective, I think many farms have already learned to use alternatives.”
The derogation option
“Notwithstanding the law promulgated last year in August, there will be exceptional circumstances where substances of concern can still be re-registered,” said Boshoff.
If companies want to re-register a product, they need to apply for derogation for restricted use. “You can only do so if no alternative products are available, and you will have to argue your case,” said Boshoff. “You will need a risk assessment conducted by a professional certified toxicologist.”
Applicants must specify the use and timeframe for which they seek the derogation, and the approval process includes public participation.
Re-registration will only be considered if the risk to humans, animals, and the environment is negligible, the product is essential to controlling a serious risk to humans, animals, and the environment, or the negative impact of banning the product outweighs the benefits of using it.
“If we do nothing, the product must be phased out throughout the value chain by the end of May 2025,” stated Boshoff. “If you have these products, talk to your crop-protection adviser, chemical supplier or the registration holder to ensure those products are no longer on your farm by that date.”
In some cases, the substances of concern are co-formulants rather than active ingredients. If the co-formulant makes up less than 10% of the product, the registration holder can simply change it and apply for re-registration. However, if it makes up more than 10%, the registration process becomes the same as for a new product.
What happens next?
Crop-protection companies are taking a two-pronged approach: developing alternatives and pursuing derogations. “There’s a rich pipeline of new actives from many research-based companies,” said Boshoff.
Of relevance to the pome- and stone-fruit industry, crop-protection companies have formed derogation groups for the fungicide propiconazole and the herbicide glufosinate-ammonium. They are seeking reclassification of the fungicides mancozeb and propiconazole.
“Mancozeb is the big one,” said Boshoff. Three companies are actively supporting its reclassification, and we’re working with the citrus industry on that.” Although success is not guaranteed, the process will likely buy mancozeb a little more time.
Meanwhile, he encourages growers to consult their crop-protection adviser to take advantage of alternative products and optimise the positioning of available actives. He cautioned that managing resistance and residues will be challenging.
Boshoff also reminded growers that good agricultural practices are the basis of integrated crop management, which is fundamental to integrated pest management.
“Integrated pest management is about prevention through observation and intervention, whether cultural, physical, biological, or chemical,” he said. “I believe as we move forward, this is going to be a key component of how we manage general plant health.”
At the same time, he believes that the potential risks of chemicals can be mitigated by using registered products according to the label and appropriate health and safety precautions.
The longer-term outlook
Pome and stone-fruit growers should take advantage of new technologies, such as areawide monitoring, weather stations, and improved application systems, that support precision agriculture and effective crop protection.
Meanwhile, the established crop-protection companies continue to innovate and bring new active ingredients to market.
“Despite the anti-pesticide lobby, the crop-protection industry has a very strong contribution to make,” said Boshoff. “Last year, the global crop-protection industry was valued at about USD 68 billion, and it’s expected to grow to approximately USD 98 billion by 2032.”
Of this, biologicals account for about USD 10 billion, half of which are biostimulants. The biocontrol market is growing at about 10% yearly but is still dwarfed by conventional chemical crop protectants.
As South Africa only represents about 1% of the global crop-protection market, big companies have little motivation to prioritise developing and registering products for South African growers.
Still, growers can expect a lot of innovation from the crop-protection industry, said Boshoff. “For many of the products being lost, there are alternatives or good prospects of alternatives.”
Watch Boshoff’s presentation on the Hortgro YouTube channel.