As the UK aims to boost economic growth, drive innovation, and improve competitiveness across various sectors of the economy, Sean Smith, CEO of Eden Research, complains that out of date regulations are holding back innovation and the farming industry.
UK chancellor Rachel Reeves announced a series of measures to cut red tape and streamline planning processes in a bid to boost economic growth.
The key sectors that will be affected include construction, aviation, AI in healthcare, and drones and other autonomous vehicles.
Reeves has emphasised that these changes are necessary to address the “unintended consequences” of post-2008 financial crisis regulations, which she believes have gone too far in eliminating risk-taking and have held back growth.
But “outdated” UK regulations are holding back innovation and the farming industry, according to Sean Smith, CEO of Eden Research.
Eden develops sustainable biopesticides – safer, greener alternatives to toxic chemicals. Approved across Europe and the US, including tough markets like Germany and California, Eden’s products remain blocked in the UK due to rigid rules.
Lack of choice available
The impact is real, he said. The government recently banned a bee-harming pesticide used in sugar beet farming. But with “no suitable alternative in place”, farmers have been left “exposed, and their crops at risk”, Smith said. “A smarter, faster regulatory system could not only deliver much-needed solutions for the agricultural industry, but also drive UK innovation and growth.”
Eden Research’s Mevalone is a biofungicide that has gained significant regulatory approvals and market traction in recent years. Mevalone is designed to combat fungal diseases, particularly Botrytis, in crops such as grapes and apples. Mevalone is based on naturally occurring substances and aligns with the EU’s Green Deal and Farm to Fork Strategy, which aims to reduce pesticide use by 2030.
However, it has been refused approval in the UK as the authorities demand MRL studies for three of the product’s active ingredients: thymol, geraniol, and eugenol – naturally occurring terpenes with antifungal properties.
“The UK is the only country in the world where we’ve had an absolute rejection of an application for registration,” Smith complained. “The basis of that of that rejection was a request for studies that we had not done and submitted to the UK because they weren’t required anywhere else. The answer we got back was ‘we operate at a higher standard’.”
Innovation suffering?
Eden is the UK’s only AIM-listed company focused on developing and supplying biopesticides for sustainable agriculture. It will now meet extra costs, time and effort to get UK approval.
“If we weren’t UK-based listed company, the UK market size for a product like this really isn’t big enough to justify,” Smith warned. Other companies “might not be bothered to bring new products to the market because the regulatory hurdles are too high.”
Further illustrating fears that the UK is disconnecting from other parts of the world is the news from Biotalys, which has announced that the Dutch regulatory authority CTGB is recommending the approval of EVOCA’s active ingredient throughout the European Union.
Biotalys CEO Kevin Helash has previously voiced fears that regulatory hurdles could create isolated areas or islands where innovation in agricultural biologicals can thrive, while other regions may lag behind due to lengthy and costly approval processes.
“This is a significant milestone in the regulatory journey for our first biocontrol,” he said, “and we see this as a major win for our team.”
Smith added: “We’re not looking for a total green light and that everything we put on the table should be accepted and immediately implemented. A rational, reasonable thing is to give farmers an option in the face of increasing scrutiny of conventional pesticides. And one of those options could be some form of short-term approval while additional data is generated.”