As EU leaders discuss and draft the EU Strategic Agenda for the next five years (2024-2029), we at the European Crop Protection Association (ECCA) have been focused on highlighting the synergies between food security and sustainable agriculture promoted by the post-patent plant protection products (PPP) industry. Essentially, we have been and will continue to be adamant about an EU agricultural policy based on pragmatism rather than political ideology.
We are therefore encouraged by the recently published final draft of the EU Strategic Agenda, which outlines a practical path to climate neutrality and expresses a desire to harness the potential of the green and digital transition to create the markets, industries and quality jobs of the future. Moreover, we particularly welcome the commitment to promote a competitive, sustainable and resilient agricultural sector that ensures ongoing food security.
The document's focus on competitive, sustainable and resilient agriculture with food security as a top priority ties directly into the core values of post-patent PPPs. In the midst of continued economic hardship following supply chain disruptions and increased business costs, cost-efficient and effective PPPs are essential to ensure profitability for European farmers. Post-patent PPPs best combine these requirements as they have the benefit of extended commercial life with R&D costs already covered, and have a proven track record of delivering highly effective and affordable solutions for pest control.
Importantly, from a food security perspective, the increased economic efficiency from post-patent PPPs will reduce Europe’s import dependency through lower supply costs, supporting the economics of more affordable European food.
However, from a broader perspective, the document does not pay enough attention to agriculture and the untapped potential of tools such as post-patent PPPs that the sector badly needs to ensure a prosperous and competitive Europe.
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We welcome the commitment to further deepen the single market, referring to it as a long-term driver of prosperity and integration, but cases of market fragmentation affecting the agricultural sector have not been taken into account, in particular the lack of harmonised implementation of the rules providing for the approval of all post-patent PPPs across EU countries within the timeframes set out in EU regulations.
Non-uniformity in regulatory applications and approvals across the EU creates distortions in the single market and reinforces inequalities across Europe in farmers' access to tools that promote a competitive, sustainable and resilient agricultural sector that continues to ensure food security. In parts of the EU, post-patent PPPs are subject to repeated safety reviews as new active ingredients, despite prior approval and a history of safe use, while other EU member states experience inconsistent approval processes and delayed responses to applications.
Moreover, this fragmented regulatory environment stifles innovation in Europe, an area that is expected to be promoted as part of the EU's efforts to strengthen competitiveness. The benefits of a streamlined approval framework for generic (post-patent) products are widely recognised in the pharmaceutical sector, where it has been proven that the widespread use of generics increases competition, drives innovation and benefits consumers in terms of cost and availability of choice.
We are convinced that EU policymakers are aware of this issue, given the Agenda's commitment to closing the EU's growth, productivity and innovation gap with international partners and major competitors. We strongly welcome this commitment, but we must not forget our domestic partners, including ECCA members, with whom we can work together to close the growth, productivity and innovation gap in European agricultural competitiveness.
Finally, we were encouraged to see references to the central role that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play in Europe’s economic and social fabric: in particular, ECCA’s membership is mainly made up of SMEs, employing a total of more than 2,800 people across Europe and generating a turnover of more than €1 billion.
For SMEs in the post-patent PPP industry to play a central role in Europe’s future, they need a fair and efficient regulatory environment focused on ensuring that competition is not distorted and that equal and fair market access opportunities are protected.
Pankaj Patil is President of the European Crop Protection Association (ECCA), the pan-European voice of the post-patent plant protection industry. All author stories can be found here.
