The nation's agriculture and veterinary chemical regulator has reported a spike in processing delays, with only 78.3 per cent of major pesticide applications completed within legislated timeframes for the quarter ending December 2023.
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The unpublished performance data, contained in a Senate Estimates written response to a question on notice from the Australian Pesticide and Veterinary Medicines Authority, is in stark contrast to the June quarter of 2022 when on-time assessment of pesticide applications was reported at 96.9pc.
Meanwhile, the APVMA also revealed that 1189 applications in all categories were in progress as of November 13, 2023.
The oldest was a chemistry application filed in July 2014, that changed holder during the application and was subject to extensive legal delays, at 3422 days overdue, while other lengthy lags at the time ranged from 104 days to 1554 days overdue.
CropLife Australia chief executive Matthew Cossey said the pesticide processing delays exposed farmers to millions of dollars worth of preventable crop losses.
"This is now the sixth successive quarter that the APVMA timeframe performance for major pesticide applications has languished below its own downgraded self-imposed targets," he said.
"Unfortunately, the APVMA's failure to meet its statutory timeframe obligations is now having very real consequences for effective management of crippling pests and diseases."
These include the fall armyworm, red legged earth mite, powdery mildew and fusarium crown rot, with the latter alone costing the farming sector more than $400 million a year.
Cleared assessments at APVMA, which is an organisation in limbo as it waits for the government to decide if it will remain headquartered at Armidale or be shifted back to Canberra, for major pesticides were at 85pc in the first quarter of the 2023-24 financial year.
The figures fluctuated between 81 and 86pc across the 2022-23 financial year.
CropLife, the national peak industry organisation for the plant science sector, said some farmers were also opting not to plant next year's crop due to delays in the anticipated registration of specific products.
Mr Cossey claimed a series of "sensationalised political distractions and a lack of high-end strategic management" over the past 18 months at APVMA were the root cause of the falling numbers.
The APVMA is funded by plant science industry charges and levies and registration application processing fees.
"The APVMA is one of the world's leading regulatory science organisations, with a dedicated, skilled and scientific workforce," Mr Cossey said.
"It is a false economy to assert that timely assessment of new crop protection products needs to be sacrificed in order for the APVMA to meet the full breadth of its regulatory obligations, including chemical review and compliance."
It is believed that the government's current aversion to using outside consultants has stopped the regulator from tapping in competent external scientific reviewers to help clear the decks.
Mr Cossey also called for the recruitment of a "permanent, full-time and relevantly-qualified" chief executive to "cease the revolving door of stopgap" appointments and who could implement performance-enhancing efficiency measures.
Meanwhile, Grains Producers Australia awaits APVMA approval of an application lodged last November to continue to use ZP50 mouse baits, with the permit having expired on December 31 last year.
Nationals Member for Mallee Anne Webster said she has written to Agriculture Minister Murray Watt to outline the concerns of farmers.
The APVMA announced on Tuesday that is has opened a public consultation into a proposed regulatory decision into the use of the insecticide fenitrothion, that is used against locusts and grasshoppers in pasture and cereal crops and to protect stored cereal grains.
