The Economic Benefits of Improvements in Online Licensing of The Chemical Use in Queensland Crop Industries ^†

Abstract

The selective use of chemical products plays an important role in increasing production, improving the quality of Queensland’s agricultural produce and enabling producers to earn reasonable returns on their investments. Effective pest management, therefore, helps deliver high quality, healthy and affordable food for all consumers. The efficiency of policy tools such as chemical use licensing hinges critically on supply-side knowledge levels. Although licence applications are available online, information can be difficult to find and often businesses need to contact the state authority to seek further assistance in completing their licence applications. The aim of this study is therefore to identify the benefits for the users of agricultural chemicals from improvements in licensing application process. Based on a rigorous literature review and statistical analysis of available data, this study modelled the per day/per application value of the use of crop protection products in Queensland. Results indicate a potential saving by farmers due to a faster process for chemical licence applications. Extreme values of these savings range from $87 thousand to $52 million per annum, with actual ones falling in between depending on the coincidence and level of individual risk factors. Since the chemicals subject to licensing are used beyond agriculture and are utilised not only for crop protection, the results of this analysis are thus underestimated, which implies even greater benefits for the economy. It therefore seems important to update the current licence application platform so that applicants can lodge their application in a more user-friendly and synchronised manner.