Canadian potato growers on Prince Edward Island will be paid €1800 per hectare this year to grow fewer seed potatoes. To do this, they have to reduce their surface area by at least 10%. The potato sector on the island has had a tough year after a double find of wart disease paralyzed exports.
Last season on Prince Edward Island (PEI), wart disease was found in two plots. As a result, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency decided to halt the export of seed potatoes and ware potatoes to the United States. This is not the first time that something like this has happened happened after a discovery of the wart disease Synchytrium endobioticum.
136.000 tons of surplus
The export ban was a major blow for the many arable farmers on the 'potato island'. It is the largest potato growing area in Canada with an annual production of approximately 1,13 million tons of potatoes. Of this, 136.000 tonnes could not be exported to the US in the current export season. Some of the potatoes for consumption are domestic processed, but the seed potatoes have been destroyed.
The local government on the island has a program set up where seed potato growers are paid to grow fewer potatoes. To do this, they must reduce their area by at least 10% compared to last year. The plots where these seed potatoes would be grown must be sown with a green manure, in order to improve soil health and sequester carbon. It is not without reason that it is called 'Soil building for seed producers project'.
€1800 per hectare
Seed potato growers receive $1.000 per acre – the equivalent of more than €1.800 per hectare – to leave the planter at home. They have until July 1 to do this. The question is whether companies will change their construction plans, because more than 60% of the area is already in the ground. Only companies that suffered a financial loss last year due to being unable to export are allowed to participate.
Thanks to this measure, the government hopes to reduce the area and improve soil health. The acreage on PEI normally amounts to about 35.000 hectares, divided among 180 growers. The area of seed potatoes amounts to approximately 20% of the total. It is not known what consequences a reduction in cultivation will have for the US, for example, but also other export destinations. In Canada there are shortages in some breeds.