British Growers has announced that consultation with the Crop Associations and other representative organisations shows there is overwhelming support for the establishment of a successor organisation to take on EAMU applications and Emergency Authorisation requests when AHDB ceases to do so in March 2023.
Therefore, a new grower-owned and grower-led organisation, Horticultural Crop Protection Ltd (HCP), will be established and funded through a system of voluntary subscriptions. The industry has set up a working group to shape and guide the development of the new organisation and is now in the process of agreeing on the governing documentation, drafting a three-year budget, and exploring the most appropriate and equitable cost-sharing model. The working group is also actively communicating with the grower base through a series of newsletters detailing progress to date.
According to 14 grower groups and trade organisations and British Growers, the Group is in regular dialogue with Defra, who are supportive of the principle of growers taking on the responsibility for this important piece of work.
British Growers stressed that, ‘Key to the future success of this initiative is funding.’ The network of Crop Associations and other representative organisations have, through their chairs, communicated to both AHDB and DEFRA support for the transfer of any residual funding from AHDB Horticulture to the successor organisation through the auspices of British Growers.
A press release added, ‘Time is of the essence if the important work of processing EAMU applications is to continue after March 2023. The transfer of the residual funding from AHDB Horticulture for the benefit of the new organisation will ensure the entire industry benefits from the funds raised from growers, for this purpose, through the continuation of a pipeline of future crop protection products.’