HCP marks third year of protecting British horticulture

Not-for-profit grower-owned organisation Horticulture Crop Protection (HCP) is celebrating its third year of helping secure pesticide and plant protection product authorisation for the horticulture sector. 

The HCP, which is supported by 29 crop associations, has continued to expand its role across the sector since its launch in 2023, following the wind-down of AHDB Horticulture. 

The organisation’s annual report sets out the progress made in those three years as well as future challenges and opportunities. 

During the year to March 2026, HCP secured 67 Minor Use Authorisations for British horticulture, 11 of those being Emergency Authorisations and 56 being Extensions of Authorisation for Minor Use (EAMUs). 

The organisation ended with year with 73 live applications with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) with decisions expected throughout 2026 and 2027. 

HCP chief executive Simon Conway attributed the organisation’s success to the continued support of its member crop associations and expertise of its specialist teams. 

The organisation’s third year also saw all member subscriptions paid in full, while HCP reported continued cost control despite the margin pressures facing British horticulture. 

Financially, HCP reported £1.079 million cash at bank at the end of March 2026, while contributions from agrochemical companies increased to almost £71,000, compared with nearly £30,000 the previous year.

Current challenges 

Despite progress, the organisation acknowledges the sector faces significant challenges ahead. 

The most significant of those appears to be the implementation of the EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) agreement expected to come into force in summer 2027. 

HCP said it is already actively engaging with Defra through the SPS Pesticide Working Group and Horticulture Experts Group. It has also commissioned a horticulture-focused impact report and produced a crop protection ‘gap’ analysis for its members.

Ali Capper, chairman of HCP, said: “Handled well, closer alignment, over a sensible transition period, could ease access to the wider range of actives used by the EU growers we compete against, and speed the flow of new EAMUs that follow them to market. 

“Handled badly, it risks locking British Horticulture into rules set without our sector’s needs in mind and creating yet more competitive disadvantage with European growers,” she added.

At the same time, the continuing loss of plant protection products also remains a fundamental concern for growers, with active substances being lost through regulatory review faster than conventional alternatives are approved. 

This has left some sectors reliant on repeated Emergency Authorisations to maintain commercially viable production. HCP says the pace of transition to biological alternatives has yet to match the rate at which existing active substances are being lost. 

Future plans

As HCP enters its fourth year, the organisation said it plans to continue working with Defra and grower associations on the SPS transition, as well as seeking to secure critical crop-protection tools and a more level playing field with EU growers. 

Continuing to develop digital capability and to maximise process efficiency, as well as collaborating with stakeholders to streamline the EAMU and EA application process were also outlined as cental to progress. 

“The key goal is to protect the competitiveness, resilience and long-term food security of British horticulture,” the report stated.