IR-4 Project on a Quest To Grow Specialty Crop Export Opportunities

The IR-4 Project has received a $10 million, five-year award from the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA FAS) to help U.S. specialty crop growers overcome pesticide residue-related barriers to international trade. The award, part of USDA’s Assisting Specialty Crop Exports (ASCE) initiative, will expand IR-4’s capacity to generate scientific data supporting international pesticide maximum residue limits (MRLs) and develop practical strategies to reduce residue-related export risks. This work will help expand export opportunities for U.S. specialty crops, including high-value commodities such as citrus, tree nuts, grapes, sweet potatoes, berries, dried fruits, and vegetables.

U.S. specialty crop growers rely on effective crop protection tools, but a pesticide registered in the U.S. does not automatically have an internationally recognized MRL. Missing or differing standards can restrict market access even when growers use pesticides according to U.S. requirements.

“We are very excited for the opportunity to expand how IR-4 supports U.S. specialty crop growers in global markets,” says Lina Quesada-Ocampo, Executive Director of the IR-4 Project. “We are grateful to USDA FAS for their confidence in IR-4 and excited to build this new program together with our stakeholders and partners.”

During the first year, IR-4 will establish an Export Market Access Platform to identify, prioritize, and track residue-related export challenges. Export priorities will be incorporated into IR-4’s stakeholder-driven process, including its annual Food Use Workshop, where growers, commodity organizations, researchers, crop protection companies, and government partners identify research needs.

The project will then support three complementary types of research: generating additional residue data alongside selected domestic studies to support future international standards; filling existing data gaps that limit establishment of Codex MRLs; and evaluating practical residue-mitigation strategies for growers.

For more details, continue reading at ir4project.org.