MUCF Steering Group

The Steering Group provides strategic oversight and decision-making for the MUCF.

The Coordination Facility supports this by:

• Maintaining regular communication and preparing relevant documents for Steering Group discussions and decisions.
• Developing work programmes and budgets and annual and financial reports, which are submitted for Steering Group approval.
• Collaborating with the MUCF Expert Working Groups to identify key issues requiring Steering Group resolution.

Expert Groups

The Expert Groups — Commodity Expert Groups (CEGs), Residue Expert Group (ReEG) and the Horizontal Expert Group (HEG) — focus on addressing minor uses challenges across sectors.

The Coordination Facility provides comprehensive support by:

• Organizing and facilitating working group meetings:

  • Sending and sharing invitations, agendas, and minutes via email and the MUCF Extranet.
  • Handling administrative arrangements and reimbursing guest speaker expenses.
• Actively participating in HEG, ReEG, and CEG meetings and supporting the preparation of the meeting reports.
• Analysing data from CEGs to identify cross-sectoral issues and issues arising from Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 to be discussed for resolution in the Horizontal Expert Group or the MUCF Steering Group.
• Assisting the Expert Groups in preparing work programmes.
• Supporting the activities of the Expert Groups by providing, maintaining and filling in the European Minor Use Database (EUMUDA).
• Supporting the work of Commodity Expert Groups as regards supporting the management of projects and inputting the project data.

Guidance and Suppport

The Coordination Facility works closely with Expert Group chair(s) and co-chair(s) to develop practical guidelines on:

• Data processing protocols and rules.
• Sharing trial data and studies while ensuring confidentiality and respecting intellectual property rights (e.g. confidentiality terms of reference for generated data and intellectual property matters).
• Procedures for creating new MUCF Expert Groups.
• Addressing any other operational challenges faced by the Expert Groups or Steering Group.

All guidelines and terms of reference are submitted to the Steering Group for agreement and shared with the EU Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed for approval. Expert groups terms of reference can be amended based on a proposal from the Horizontal Expert Group, the Coordination Facility or the Steering Group.

European Minor Uses Database (EUMUDA)

The EUMUDA database serves as a tool for collaboration and data sharing. The MUCF ensures its effectiveness by maintaining and enhancing the database by:

• Managing, maintaining, regularly updating and developing the database with information on minor uses needs, solved needs, project work, trial availability data information, crop status information, uses status information, residue extrapolation possibilities, and crop acreages.
• Encouraging all EU Member States, Member and Partner Countries to contribute essential data, including national minor uses needs lists, minor/major crop status classifications, creating a comprehensive resource for collaboration and decision-making.
• Promoting the database to stakeholders, such as Agri-Food Chain partners, and encouraging crop protection companies to appoint dedicated minor uses contact points at European level.

Minor Uses Extranet

The Minor Uses Extranet is regularly improved to streamline the work of the Expert Groups. This platform simplifies document sharing and communication, enhancing collaboration among members. The Extranet is only accessible to MUCF permanent expert group and steering group members.

Harmonizing Efforts

To ensure consistency and efficiency across the EU, and European countries which implemented procedures in alignment with Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009, the Coordination Facility promotes and supports harmonization by:

• Working with the EPPO Working Party on Plant Protection Products and the relevant EPPO Panels to update them about MUCF activities. Cooperation with the EPPO Expert Working Group (EWG) on data harmonization and the EWG on the efficacy extrapolation database.
• Developing and proposing new residue extrapolation rules.

Non-Chemical and IPM Solutions

The MUCF actively supports the development of non-chemical pest management methods as sustainable solutions to address minor uses gaps. These include microorganisms, low-risk substances, and basic substances in plant protection.

MUCF acknowledges and supports the work of IPMWORKS and the International Organisation for Biological and Integrated Control (IOBC) in advancing pest management and control strategies.

• IPMWORKS, a Horizon 2020 project, promotes and demonstrates cost-effective IPM strategies across various agricultural sectors. It provides IPM factsheets for arable crops, orchards, outdoor vegetables, vineyards, greenhouse agriculture, and organic farming. These resources are available at: IPMWORKS Fact Sheets.
• IOBC-WPRS, established in 1955, promotes environmentally safe pest and disease control methods. Its Integrated Production Guidelines provide a framework for the consistent and comprehensive application of IPM principles across different production systems. A collection of crop-specific guidelines, including those for minor crops and uses, are available through the IOBC IP-TOOL.

Additionally, the European Commission provides an inventory of crop- and sector-specific IPM guidelines: IPM Guidelines Inventory. This section includes guidelines developed by national authorities of EU Member States as part of the Sustainable Use of Pesticides Directive (SUD) (Article 14(5) of Directive 2009/128/EC). These guidelines were published under the responsibility of the contractor of the Pilot Project "IPM Toolbox", and the information provided may not always reflect the most recent developments.

Stakeholder Engagement

Building strong relationships with relevant European stakeholders is fundamental to the MUCF’s mission. To achieve this, the Coordination Facility:

• Promotes international collaboration with organizations such as the OECD, GMUS, Minor Uses Foundation, and IR-4.
• Fosters partnerships with organizations including IBMA, Copa*Cogeca, and CropLife Europe.
• Facilitates information exchange on minor uses and gaps in minor-use solutions with the agro-pesticide industry.

Sharing information

The Coordination Facility disseminates information through various channels, including:

• The MUCF website.
• The MUCF newsletter (you can subscribe here), which is open to anyone interested in updates on minor uses work carried out across Europe.
• The EUMUDA e-newsletter, available to permanent members of MUCF Expert Working Groups.
• The LinkedIn page, where the MUCF team actively shares updates using hashtags such as #EuropeanMUCF, #LetsTalkAboutMinorUses and #MinorUsesMajorImportance.