Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Douglas-Miller on 12 April 2024 (HL3653), what progress they have made on the regulation or other oversight of the sale of plant biostimulants, including consideration of their efficacy, safety and ecological impacts.

This is a devolved matter, and the information provided therefore relates to England only.

There are no specific requirements for plant biostimulants in domestic fertiliser legislation. Fertilisers are a devolved matter, and we will continue to work with the devolved governments through the Fertilisers Common Framework on fertiliser regulation.

Defra has funded a review of the evidence for the safe and effective use of plant biostimulants and methods for verifying the efficacy of plant biostimulants. This review is due to conclude November 2026. However, due to the wide variety of compounds used in biostimulants and innovation in the sector, further research and support from industry may be needed.

As part of our mission-driven Government, we are now considering how we can achieve our ambitious, measurable and long-term goals for all our farming sectors, which includes fertilisers as a key input.