Farmers will receive access to priority agricultural and veterinary chemicals to treat pests, diseases and weeds with a $2 million government grant.

Federal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud said the Access to Industry Priority Uses of Agvet Chemicals assistance grants program aimed to boost farm productivity.

“It is critical our farmers have access to approved agvet chemicals because they can directly affect production yields in plant and livestock industries,” Mr Littleproud said.

“These grants will address industry-identified priority uses in a range of plant and animal commodities, such as finfish, chickens, macadamia, rhubarb and spinach crops.”

Mr Littleproud said the focus was to improve primary producer access to agvet chemicals in order to manage uncommon or emerging pests and diseases.

“The industries dealing with threats can find it difficult to access agvet chemical products, as it may not be as profitable for chemical companies to register those uses in Australia,” he said.

The grants program forms part of the government’s six-year $14.3 million investment to improve access to safe and effective chemicals.

“These grants help industry with the costs of data generation to support applications to the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority,” Mr Littleproud said.

“The APVMA must approve the specific uses of every product, based on its assessment of information contained in a comprehensive data package provided by applicants.”