The Russian crop protection product (PPP) market is on the threshold of a major regulatory reform aimed at addressing the protracted crisis in the niche and small-scale agricultural production sector.
President Vladimir Putin approved amendments to the federal law «On the Safe Handling of Pesticides and Agrochemicals,» which had previously received full support in the State Duma and Federation Council.
Starting in September 2027, farms specializing in rare agricultural crops will have the legal right to treat their crops with chemicals under simplified regulations, completely bypassing the redundant procedures of repeated biological testing and certification.
This is a long-awaited compromise between strict environmental safety requirements and the economic viability of small agribusinesses.
The End of the Era of «Zero» Protection: Why the Old System Led to a Dead End
The essence of this legislative maneuver is the implementation of the principle of «botanical affinity.»
Farmers will be officially allowed to use pesticides that have already been state-registered for large, basic crops on related, niche plants.
The Ministry of Agriculture will be responsible for creating a specific registry for such groups. The Russian Union of Plant Protection Product Producers explained that the association will be based on the biological similarity of the plants.
Until now, the small-volume crop segment has been in a profound legal and technological impasse.
It was commercially unprofitable for agrochemical developers to register new plant protection products for narrow applications. According to the union’s estimates, the standard cycle for bringing one pesticide to market takes up to six years and costs investors an astronomical 140 million rubles.
While these costs are offset by scale on millions of hectares of sunflower, soybean, or wheat, such investments are unprofitable on berry plantations or fields of beans and millet.
As a result, legal chemicals for rare crops were virtually nonexistent in the country. Due to a shortage of modern protection systems, berry producers were losing up to half of their gross harvest annually. This forced holdings to abandon plans to expand their acreage and hindered the natural diversification of the domestic agricultural sector.
Risks of a formal approach: Business demands broad generalizations
The professional community greeted the news of the liberalization of regulations with optimism, but also with a degree of pragmatic skepticism. The true effectiveness of the long-awaited reform will depend entirely on the methodology the Ministry of Agriculture uses as the basis for the future registry.
Analysts are drawing regulators’ attention to a critical detail: if officials pursue the path of creating narrow botanical groups, the law will become a mere formality.
Lumping gooseberries with currants or raspberries with blackberries will not benefit the market, as there are currently no effective registered plant protection products for either crop.
Businesses are insisting on consolidating categories and are asking to combine berry crops with more commonly produced grapes and tomatoes, for which a full range of legal chemicals has been established.
Analysts’ View: Reform as a Stimulus for Eco-Technologies
Vladimir Alginin, Executive Director of the Russian Union of Agricultural Plant Protection (RSPZR), emphasizes that simplifying the rules is only the first step toward improving the market.
Agrochemical producers are interested in a comprehensive review of the entire certification system, as current financial and time costs are holding back the introduction of new products to the shelves.
Modern pesticide formulations have significantly improved toxicological safety, contain innovative enhancers, and minimize their harmful environmental impact compared to older Soviet-era counterparts.
Reducing the registration barrier will allow farmers to more quickly update their technological arsenal.
The Law on Related Crops is a powerful impetus for the development of horticulture, viticulture, and open-field vegetable production.
Reducing crop losses by 40–50% will allow small farms to stabilize domestic prices and increase their margins, making this niche sector attractive for large-scale investment.
