The Benefit of

Basic Substances for

Minor Uses

Journées Techniques PNPP – Substances naturelles en production végétale

26 April 2016, Paris

Jeroen Meeussen

EU Minor Uses Coordination Facility

Content

EU: Minor Crops and Minor Uses

The EU Minor Uses Coordination Facility

Basic Substances

What are ‘minor crops’?

Minor Uses - Definition

Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 – Article 3(26):

Use of a plant protection product in a particular

Member State on plants or plant products which

are:

(a) not widely grown in that Member State,

or

(b) widely grown to meet an exceptional plant

protection need.

Minor Uses - Importance

Only 3% of the cultivated area, but representing

22% of the value of the entire EU plant production

value.

Across the EU these minor crops represent a

value of more than 70 billion Euros per year.

Minor Crop – US definition

Minor crop: any crop grown on 300,000 acres or less.

This includes most vegetables, fruit, nuts, herbs,

spices, nursery and landscape plants and flowers.

Major crops: large acreage crops like corn, soybean,

wheat, peanuts, rice and cotton.

Minor crops account for over 67 billion dollars in

annual sales, which is about 40 percent of the total

agricultural sales for the US.

Minor Uses - Definition

Is this a workable definition?

Leaves it up to individual Member States to

define what is considered a ‘minor use/crop’;

Hinders the zonal procedure and mutual

recognition;

A fixed acreage (at least per zone) is favoured by

growers associations.

Report on Minor Uses

Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 – Article 51(9):

"By 14 December 2011, the Commission shall present a report to the European Parliament and the Council on the establishment of a European fund for minor uses, accompanied, if appropriate, by a legislative proposal".

Report was adopted on 18 February 2014.

Key-messages:

The creation of an independent Coordination Facility on minor uses which is co-funded by the Commission;

Commission will support an ERANET on Integrated Pest Management with specific reference to minor uses.

Content

EU: Minor Crops and Minor Uses

The EU Minor Uses Coordination Facility

Basic Substances

Coordination Facility - Tasks

Tasks of the Coordination Facility:

sharing of information and experience gained at national level;

coordination of minor use work between Member States and stakeholders;

creation and maintenance of a data base on minor uses;

stimulation of harmonisation (e.g. crop group and pest group definitions, development of guidance).

Coordination Facility

Hosted by EPPO (in Paris) and jointly funded by the EU and by the governments of France, Germany and the Netherlands. Initially for a period of 3 years.

Grant contract was signed on 15 April 2015.

Coordinator started 1 September 2015. Coordination Facility will work for all Member States.

Press Release

PRESS RELEASE

The EU Minor Uses Coordination Facility has started!

On 1st September Mr Jeroen Meeussen started work as coordinator for the new EU Minor Uses

Coordination Facility. Minor uses of pesticides are uses on niche crops with a high economic value for

farmers, but usually of low economic interest for the agro-pesticide industry. The mission of the

Facility is 'to enable farmers in the EU to produce high quality crops by filling minor uses gaps through

efficient collaboration to improve availability of chemical and non-chemical tools within an integrated

pest management (IPM) framework’. Speaking from his office in Paris, Jeroen says “I am looking

forward to the challenge of improving the co-ordination between countries, grower organisations and

industry in developing solutions for minor uses. One of my priorities will be to liaise with applicants,

growers, Member States and other relevant stakeholders. I will also be drawing on experience from

other minor use projects around the globe”.

Jointly funded, initially, by the EU and the governments of France, Germany and the Netherlands, the

Facility is hosted by the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organisation (EPPO) in Paris.

Its work will be overseen by a Steering Group representing all of the funders. The representatives of

the governments of France, Germany and the Netherlands welcomed the creation of the Facility: “We

believe that only through effective collaboration between countries the problems of minor uses can

be addressed. That is why our governments have been willing to contribute to the costs of getting the

Facility established.”

The EU has committed to provide 50% of the costs of this Facility for the first three years. The work

of the Facility will benefit growers in all Member States, and one of its tasks will be to develop a

sustainable funding model for continuing the work in the longer term. All Member States and

stakeholders will need to play a role in securing its future.

Website

Standing Committee on Plants, Animals,

Food and Feed

Steering Group

Co-ordinator

and

Coordination

Facility

EPPO Council, Executive

Committee and Working Parties

EPPO

Secretariat

direction line management

and

admin support

Minor Uses IT

and Admin

Expert Groups

• Commodity Expert Groups

• Horizontal Expert Group

co-ordination

Diagram of relationship

Commodity Expert Groups Currently there are 6 Commodity Expert Groups (CEG):

CEG fruit and vegetables

CEG ornamentals

CEG tobacco

CEG rice

CEG hops

CEG seeds

Focus in CEG is (still) very much on chemical solutions!

Coordination Facility - Mission

The mission of the Facility is 'to enable farmers in the EU to produce high quality crops by filling minor uses gaps through efficient collaboration to improve availability of chemical and non-chemical tools within an integrated pest management (IPM) framework’.

Member States and Stakeholders (growers, industry, international organisations)

C-IPM-ERANET

ERANETs are research coordination instruments whereby Member States can coordinate their National research activities and ultimately fund joint projects.

C-IPM stands for ´Coordinated Integrated Pest Management in Europe´.

C-IPM-ERANET Work Package 3: to identify IPM solutions for use in minor crops or to address situations of exceptional plant protection needs in major crops.

This IPM research programme focuses on non-chemical alternatives.

Minor Uses Research proposals: (a) Cabbage root fly and carrot fly, (b) Mites in berries and small fruits and (c) Soil borne pests and diseases.

Databases

EUMUDA:

EUMUDA needs to be populated with data from all MS!

Transfer and enhancement of the data base.

Content

EU: Minor Crops and Minor Uses

The EU Minor Uses Coordination Facility

Basic Substances

Criteria for identification of

basic substances

Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 – Article 23(1):

not a substance of concern;

not inherent capacity to cause endocrine disrupting, neurotoxic or immunotoxic effects;

not predominantly used for plant protection purposes but useful in plant protection;

not placed on the market as a Plant Protection Product!

Basic Substances and their

products - Derogations

A basic substance shall be approved for an unlimited period;

No authorisation is needed for the use of products containing exclusively one or more basic substances;

The label on the product may indicate that the basic substances it contains are approved under Article 23 of Regulation 1107/2009.

Work in Progress

Working document on approval of basic substances (SANCO/10363/2012 – rev. 9);

Provide guidance for the submission of applications Template as Annex to Working Document;

Clarification about procedure and timelines;

Update Working Document is considered.

Procedures and Timelines

Activity

- Application (to COM):

EFSA

- Commenting (MS+EFSA):

Mandate to EFSA (technical report)

- Reporting table to applicant:

- Finalised reporting table:

COM

- Focussed peer review (by EFSA) or

- Conclusion on open points (by EFSA):

- Review report

• Time

• 0

• 2 months

• 1 month

• 2 months

• 2 months/

• 2 months

• 6 months (after assessment

EFSA)

Approved Basic Substances (1)

Common Name Date of approval Crops

Equisetum arvense 1 July 2014 Fruit trees, peach,

grapevine,

cucumber, tomato

Chitosan

hydrochloride

1 July 2014 Berries, small

fruit, vegetables,

spices, cereals,

potatoes

Sucrose 1 January 2015 Apple, sweet

maize

Calcium hydroxide 1 July 2015 Pome fruit, stone

fruit

Vinegar 1 July 2015 Seeds, vegetables,

chestnut,

ornamentals

Approved Basic Substances (2)

Common Name Date of approval Crops

Lechitins 1 July 2015 Fruit trees,

vegetables,

ornamentals

Salix spp. cortex 1 July 2015 Fruit trees, apple

fruit, grapevine

Fructose 1 October 2015 Apple fruit

Sodium hydrogen

carbonate

8 December 2015 Fruit, vegetables,

ornamentals

Whey Approved

March 2016

Cucumber

Diammonium

phosphate

Approved

March 2016

Orchards, olive

trees, citrus

Non-Approved Basic Substances (1)

Common Name Date of decision Crops

Arctium lappa L.

(aerial parts)

REGULATION (EU)

2015/2082 of 18

November 2015

The assessment of

the risk to

operators,

workers,

bystanders,

consumers and

non-target

organisms could

not be finalised.

Artemisia

absinthium L.

REGULATION (EU)

2015/2046 of 16

November 2015

Non-Approved Basic Substances (2)

Common Name Date of decision Crops

Artemisia vulgaris

L.

REGULATION (EU)

2015/1191 of 20

July 2015

The assessment of

the risk to

operators,

workers,

bystanders,

consumers and

non-target

organisms could

not be finalised

Rheum officinale

root extract

REGULATION (EU)

2015/707 of 30

April 2015

Non-Approved Basic Substances (3)

Common Name Date of decision Crops

Tanacetum

vulgare L.

REGULATION (EU)

2015/2083 of 18

November 2015

The assessment of

the risk to

operators,

workers,

bystanders,

consumers and

non-target

organisms could

not be finalised

Mixtures containing basic

substances

Only one or more basic substances and simple diluent no authorisation necessary

Basic substance + co-formulant(s) authorised as PPP basic substance needs to be approved as active substance

Basic substance + active substance(s) authorised as PPP status ‘basic substance’ not relevant

Comparable substances like ‘acetic acid’ (CAS number 64-19-7) and ‘vinegar’ (CAS number 90132-02-8) can have different status (active versus basic substance)

Special case

Substance has been approved as a basic substance

cannot be placed on the market as a PPP

application for exactly same substance (same CAS number) as ‘active substance’ under Reg. (EC) No 1107/2009

same substance approved as ‘active substance’

products can be placed on the market as PPP

status of the ‘basic substance’ will be reconsidered

Conclusion

Basic Substances can provide excellent tools for sustainable agriculture and to fill minor use gaps!

Jeroen Meeussen Coordinator European Union Minor Uses Coordination Facility 21 boulevard Richard Lenoir 75011 Paris FRANCE T +33(0)1 84 79 07 55 M +33(0)7 60 82 22 36 E jeroen.meeussen@minoruses.eu website: www.minoruses.eu

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