Access to safe and effective agricultural and veterinary (agvet) chemicals is important to Australian agricultural and livestock industries, the community and the environment. The Australian Government has committed $25.7 million over eleven years from 2014-15 to 2024-25 to help farmers gain improved access to agvet chemicals. Approximately $11.9 million of the committed funding has been approved so far to assist with data generation to support an application to the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) that seeks to gain, maintain or broaden access to priority uses of agvet chemicals. $8 million of the committed funding is available, over four years, from 2021-22 to continue the grants program.
A number of other activities have also been funded through the commitment.
Funding
To date 192 grants, totalling $11.9 million have been awarded.
- The first round of assistance grants in 2015-16 funded 49 grants worth $1.608 million.
- The second round in 2016-17 funded 51 grants worth $2.499 million.
- The third round in 2017-18 funded 26 grants worth $1.755 million.
- The fourth round in 2018-19 funded 23 grants worth $2 million.
- The fifth round in 2019-20 funded 22 grants worth $2 million.
- The sixth round in 2020-21 funded 21 grants worth $2 million.
Funded projects
A diverse range of commodities across the plant and animal sector have received support for projects to deliver safe and appropriate pest management access. These include emerging industries, such as jujubes and commercially supplied wildflowers, which have received support to address fungal and insect pests, and more established industries, such as grains, which have received support to address weeds and insects. Funded animal industry projects include treating bacterial infections in finfish and vaccines for common viruses in the pork production systems. A full list of the projects funded and their current status is available below (as of April 2021).
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Programs Success
To date, the grants have contributed to 41 new permit uses and the inclusion of eight additional uses on an existing product label, providing improved access for Australian producers. For example, one of the additional label uses allows growers to effectively treat annual rye grass in chickpeas, lupins and peas.
A 2020 ABARES report, reviewing 15 of these projects over a 20 year timespan, estimates the average return for industry is $117 per grant dollar, and totals an average of $17 million per project. Under the most conservative predictions, all but one of the projects had a positive return on the grant investment. The projects reviewed spanned cereals, horticulture crops and fodder grown for the dairy industry. These are similar returns to what the Canadian and US minor use programs have shown.
Contact us
Email: AGVET Access Grants