IR-4 is an USA program dedicated to the minor uses issue in the USA: Since 1963, it has been “the major resource for supplying pest management tools for specialty crop growers by developing research data to support new EPA tolerances and labeled product uses.”
Read the 2014 IR-4 Year End Summary to understand what is the IR-4 program.
In a testimony, the US farmers and food chain organizations are requesting that the House of representatives (US Parliament) increase the national funding from 11.9M$ in 2015 to 15.9M$ in 2016.
The european situation is very different.
Within the EU, some Members states are making some efforts. In France, for example, the government has funding the “Commission des Usages Orphelins” since 2008. But with poor means.
AT EU level, the 1107/2009 regulation provides the creation of a promotion fund for the minor uses. It has been in place since the beginning of 2015. Its annual budget is 350 000 €.
It is difficult to compare the EU and the US situations : the EU is not a federation, there is also actions which are been driven by each member states. There is also other programs dedicated to the minor uses issue, which is a major issue.
Nevertheless, in the USA, the minor issue is a priority. In the EU, there is some progress to be doneµ.