Villa Insights | E1 - A decade is a short time in crop protection

Ten years to phase out 55 restricted products is no small task—but Villa is up for the challenge. In this episode, Bianca Rabie shares how Villa is navigating new regulations, replacing CMR products, and proactively supporting South African growers through a shifting crop protection landscape. 

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Narrated using AI voice technology 

Transcript

A decade is a short time in crop protection

RESTRICTED AGRICULTURAL REMEDIES

Being proactive will be key to ensure you have products available that can fulfil that function.

Ten years to phase out 55 products and replace them with equally effective ones is a big ask. However, it is not the first time the crop protection industry and growers have had to move quickly to implement wide-ranging regulations on hazardous products.

At a recent company strategy session, Villa research and regulatory affairs manager Bianca Rabie outlined the mammoth task of complying with regulations on the withdrawal of CMR 1A and 1B products, as well as restricted products that required updated labelling to reflect that they may only be purchased or used by registered pest control officers (PCOs), or under their supervision.

In response to the CMR ban – effective 31 May 2024, or from 31 May 2025 for products granted an extension – Villa took the following actions:
 • Discontinued 37 products;
 • Submitted applications for 2 derogations, which are pending;
 • Reclassified 6 products following the submission of new data;
 • Completed 28 minor formulation changes;
 • Undertook 7 major reformulations, 5 of which were completed, with the remaining 2 in the final stages as of the end of April, when this issue of INSIGHTS went to print.

With regard to restricted agricultural products, which may only be applied by or under supervision of a registered PCO, 55 Villa products were affected, of which 29 were in stock and for which new labels had to be submitted for approval and printed before existing stock could be sold on.

New labels for all 55 products were submitted to the Registrar of Act 36 of 1947, and 46 had been approved at the time of going to print.

Villa has submitted applications for derogations for glufosinate-ammonium and halosulfuron-methyl, both post-emergent herbicides, for as long as possible until the ban takes effect in 2035, and is awaiting the outcome of the applications.

Replacing CMR products
Bianca says that in responding to the ban on CMR products, the size of Villa’s product portfolio proved invaluable, as in many instances there were other products available as substitutes for the 37 products that had to be discontinued.

“We followed a very systematic approach to see which products were still widely used, which pests they targeted and where the use of products overlapped. Where it was found that there could be a deficit in solutions for specific pests, or in particular seasons or crops, we assigned a project team to investigate alternatives.”

In some instances, applications could be made to reclassify products based on new safety data. In other cases, newly banned products overlapped, so it was not always necessary to substitute them with the same number of replacements.

Efforts to replace products are ongoing, and new product applications are in the pipeline.

Being proactive and responsive
Ten years is not a very long time to replace 55 products when one considers that it can take six years to register a new product, based on the trial data and other information required by the Registrar of Act 36 of 1947.

Regulatory compliance is also not the only consideration in the transition. A forward-looking supplier may withdraw restricted products early in order to assist crop advisors and growers to switch to alternative products and multipronged approaches such as IPM.

“But if the newer product is not cost-effective within a farming business, growers or crop advisors may simply switch to an alternative product from another supplier that still sells the active ingredient or product in question.

“One has to follow a balanced approach so you have plans in place for when a product is withdrawn, but still serve your customer’s needs today.”

The future of crop protection
Adapting to a post-2035 scenario of crop protection would be similar to approaches followed when CMR 1A and 1B products were withdrawn.

“IPM is going to be very important; you will have to consider what alternative control measures you can apply, such as crop rotation, sanitation or biologicals,” Bianca says.

“If the alternative products are going to be more expensive than the one currently in use, you will have to find ways of administering fewer product applications during the season. Careful planning and ensuring optimum efficiency when applying product will be very important.

“Whether you’re a grower, an agent or a crop advisor, being proactive will be key to ensure you have products available that can fulfil that function and coincide with your spray windows.”

While new active ingredients are continuously being introduced internationally, these ingredients often don’t find their way to South Africa due to the prohibitive cost and limited return on investment in such a comparatively small market.

Yet the South African market still indirectly benefits from novel techniques using artificial intelligence to screen potential active ingredients, or refine existing active ingredients to make them safer.

“We are constantly on the lookout for new products and active ingredients. There are many instances where Villa is the first company to bring a generic product to market, but in 2025 we will also be launching a new product where the active ingredient is a first in South Africa.”

What counts in South Africa’s favour, though, is Villa’s innovation and adaptability.

“We’ve lost products before. When it was first announced that we would lose chlorpyrifos, everyone said we couldn’t manage without it, and yet it’s been out of commission for two years and we’re moving forward. It is definitely a case of ‘’n boer maak ’n plan’. Our growers are very capable, but we do want to support them and make these transitions as easy as possible for them.”