LTO Nederland, CropLife NL, and the Dutch government have joined forces to establish the Fund for Minor Uses of Crop Protection Products. The first application round will open in September 2025, and the fund will remain available until December 31, 2028. Compared to earlier initiatives, several changes have been introduced.
One key change is that the fund will now prioritize applications for low-risk products. It will also support approvals, or extensions of approvals, for so-called basic substances. Products containing an active ingredient classified as a Candidate for Substitution will not be eligible. These conditions were set by the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality (LNV) to ensure public money is used responsibly.
LTO Nederland will act as secretariat for the Allocation Committee of the fund, a role previously handled by the NVWA (Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority). The NVWA will still be involved, but only in an advisory capacity.
Background of the fund
The Fund helps cover the high costs of registering crop protection products or obtaining environmental permits for releasing biological control agents. As of this year, it also supports the procedures and studies required for the approval of basic substances.
The fund is managed by the Stichting Kleine Toepassingen Gewasbeschermingsmiddelen (Foundation for Minor Uses of Crop Protection Products), established specifically for this purpose by CropLife NL and LTO Nederland. Funding is shared equally: half by the Ministry of LNV, half by the private sector.
The fund's regulations and the application form can be downloaded from the CropLife NL website via this page.
Source: LTO
