The agriculture industry believes the allocations for the exploration into a chlorpyrifos alternative in California are inadequate. The Department of Pesticide Regulations (DPR) has dedicated $2.1 million and a taskforce to finding substitutes for growers who use chlorpyrifos in their farming operation. The chemical is scheduled for deregistration at the end of 2020.
California’s new budget has additional funding to the effort, totaling around $5 million. Still, Western Agricultural Processors Association’s Director of Regulatory Affairs Jodi Devaours said that investment and timeline are just simply not enough. “Anyone who knows anything about what it takes to bring a new chemistry online knows that there are tens-of-millions of dollars that go into an individual product,” she said. “Also, there are years of studies and tests that need to be done to go through the federal process.”
That timeline lengthens out, even more, when you take into account California regulations. Devours said, of course, it’s positive to see those funds going into research, but a systematic change is needed in the duration of the process. “There really needs to be an evaluation at the state level as to how we can expedite these registrations, making sure they go through the proper channels, but making sure they get to the farmers a little bit quicker,” she said.
About the Author
