Published date: 24 April 2023
Last edited date: 27 April 2023
Closed opportunity - This means that the contract is currently closed. The buying department may be considering suppliers that have already applied, or no suitable offers were made.
Contract summary
Industry
Pesticides - 24451000
Pesticides pollution assessment - 90732800
Location of contract
L20 7HS
Value of contract
£1 to £70,000
Procurement reference
HSE/T4393
Published date
24 April 2023
Closing date
2 June 2023
Closing time
12pm
Contract start date
24 July 2023
Contract end date
28 February 2024
Contract type
Service contract
Procedure type
Open procedure (below threshold)
Any interested supplier may submit a tender in response to an opportunity notice.
This procedure can be used for procurements below the relevant contract value threshold.
Contract is suitable for SMEs?
Yes
Contract is suitable for VCSEs?
No
Description
Can the pesticide risk assessment be developed to ensure it accords more closely with modern farming practice?
The current plant protection product (pesticide) risk assessment process estimates exposures of people and the environment to chemicals applied by operators. The exposures are assessed against values known to be protective of human health and adverse environmental impact. The assessment process is commonly based on amounts of pesticide applied per hectare (g/ha or kg/ha). It is assumed, for example, in broadacre cropping that pest, weed and disease pressure is evenly distributed throughout the field and that the entire area is treated with a homogenous spray.
This assumption is not representative of some current/emerging/potential new practice, where use of new technologies enables farmers to detect and map plant health, vigour, pest and disease levels and nutrient availability and tailor inputs accordingly (applying treatments only where they are required). Authorisation holders have contacted HSE CRD to discuss both tailored inputs and variable rate spraying as they see these developments as supporting farmers and increasing the availably of new pesticides.
This project involves reviewing the pesticide risk assessment for ecotoxicology and environmental fate and behaviour and considering:
• how an assessment could be carried out that models / assesses the risks of variable rate spraying above and below a set level
• what are the effects of those changes to the way the risk assessment is carried out on specific areas, for example
- birds and mammals, aquatic organisms, bees, non-target arthropods, soil organisms and non-target plants
- surface water, sediment, groundwater, drain flow and soil
• any trade-off between the potential benefits and increases in complexity and data requirements
• consideration should be given to potential risk mitigation measures that are available and appropriate
The contractor will need to produce a report proposing a range of potential methods for carrying out an environmental risk assessment capable of supporting variable rate application rates.
The report must be relevant to the United Kingdom.
The final report should be of sufficient quality and suitable for publication as a standalone report in the Defra Scientific Series Defra, UK - Science Search.
More information
Additional text
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All tender documents are available via the HSE In-Tend supplier e-procurement portal. All responses and requests for clarification must be submitted via the portal. Registration is free of charge and can be completed via the following link:
https://in-tendhost.co.uk/hse
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Closing: 2 June 2023, 12pm
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