Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence Lawrence MacAulay, on behalf of Minister of Agriculture Marie-Claude Bibeau and Prince Edward Island Premier Dennis King, were at Wilfred MacMillan & Sons' farm today to announce new support for Island potato growers under the AgriRecovery Framework.
The 2018 Canada-PEI Fall Harvest Recovery Initiative will provide up to $15.6 million to assist affected producers with the extraordinary costs related to excess moisture and cold temperatures during the 2018 fall harvest. Through the initiative, financial assistance will be provided to producers for the extraordinary costs relating to harvest recovery, additional field work, and storage and recovery, including costs associated with cleaning and disinfecting storage facilities.
Additional information about the initiative will be available through the PEI Department of Agriculture and Land, and will enable producers to mitigate impacts from the extreme weather and effectively continue their operations.
Quotes
"Our potato growers are a vital part of the farm landscape and the economy on Prince Edward Island. I am pleased to be able to work with the PEI government to help our potato and horticultural producers recover from the severe conditions they faced last fall and get their businesses back on track. Farming can be a very difficult career at the best of times, so I'm so pleased to be able to provide this much-needed support for our farmers after such a tough season."
- The Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence
"Our agriculture industry is an important driving force behind our economy. Island farmers experienced a difficult growing season last fall and we are pleased to be partnering with the federal government to support them through initiatives like AgriRecovery."
- Dennis King, Premier, Prince Edward Island
"I am pleased to see that this essential industry to the Island will be getting the help they need to recover from the difficult harvest in 2018."
- Robert Morrissey, Member of Parliament for Egmont
"Supporting our farmers, especially during extraordinary circumstances like this, is what programs like AgriRecovery are in place to do. Our government is proud to support Canadian agriculture through good times and through difficult times. "
- Sean Casey, Member of Parliament for Charlottetown
"We are lucky to live in Canada, which is a country rooted in agriculture and also the province of Prince Edward Island, where many Islanders that depend on the potato industry for their livelihood. Canada, with the support of our Province, have the National Agri Recovery Framework in place to ensure farmers can continue to farm and grow our food, even when these unimaginable conditions happen to us "
- Jason Hayden, Chair of the PEI Potato Board
Quick facts
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AgriRecovery is a disaster relief framework that is part of the suite of federal-provincial-territorial (FPT) Business Risk Management (BRM) programs under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership. It is intended to work together with the core BRM programs to help agricultural producers recover from natural disasters.
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Potatoes are the primary cash crop on the Island and PEI continues to be the largest potato-producing province in Canada, growing one-quarter of the potatoes in the country.
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The province exported over $400 million in seed, fresh and processed potato products last year - over half of total agricultural exports for PEI.
