IT COULD soon be easier for farmers to access new chemicals and veterinary medicines, with the federal government to overhaul the agency charged with their registration.
Agriculture Minister Tony Burke says the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) is bogged down in red tape.
Mr Burke told the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE) Outlook 2010 conference in Canberra on Tuesday that while the APVMA had a difficult task, it could be working better. "We want to make sure that when a chemical is dangerous, we can restrict it and restrict it quickly," he said.
"We also want to make sure that when a chemical is clearly safe, it can be made available and made available quickly, and done so in a way that provides the minimal amount of red tape for everybody involved."
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