Minor Use Pesticides Program

Canadian farmers require effective tools to manage weed, insect and disease problems which can threaten the quality, value and quantity of the crops they produce.

The Minor Use Pesticides Program was launched in June 2002 as a joint initiative between AAFC and Health Canada's Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA). The Program, which has been fortified under the federal Agricultural Regulatory Action Plan of the Growing Forward policy initiative, aims to increase grower competiveness by improving access to new and effective crop protection tools and technologies.

The Minor Use Pesticides Program works with growers, the provinces, manufacturers and the U.S. IR-4 Specialty Crops program to establish grower-selected crop/pest needs, and match them with potential solutions, particularly reduced risk products. As the front-line guardians against pest issues, growers know from experience the types of persistent and emerging pest problems that can have serious effects on their operations. It is for that reason that growers select priorities at an annual priority-setting workshop.

AAFC then conducts field and greenhouse trials and commissions laboratory analyses to collect the required data, including efficacy and residue information, before drafting regulatory submissions to PMRA for the registration of new minor uses. Many of these new uses replace older chemistries and formulations which have been taken off the market.

These efforts assist in moving new products through the regulatory system which will help Canada's producers to compete in global markets.

Contact Us

If you would like to learn more about this program, Contact Us.

Growing Forward, a federal-provincial-territorial initiative