15 fields where potato wart was discovered purchased by P.E.I. government for $9M

The Prince Edward Island Department of Agriculture says it has purchased 15 fields where the potato wart fungus was discovered, at a cost to taxpayers of $9 million.

Potato wart is a devastating disease that disfigures and ruins potatoes. It poses no risk to humans, but can spread through contaminated soil. In 2021, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) discovered the fungus in two P.E.I. fields, which led to the U.S. closing its border to all P.E.I. potatoes for four months. Table or eating potatoes were eventually allowed back into the States, but a ban on P. E.I. seed remains in the U.S. and also to most other Canadian provinces.

“We’re protecting our markets. We’re protecting our potato growers by doing this so the States can see that these are out of production,” said P.E.I. Agriculture Minister Hilton MacLennan.

The province plans to purchase more fields as it attempts to demonstrate to the United States it has control of the disease.

‘We’re protecting our potato growers by doing this so the States can see that these are out of production,’ says P.E.I. Agriculture Minister Hilton MacLennan. (Rick Gibbs/CBC)

It plans to plant grass in the fields this fall and add trees come spring. Potatoes will never again be planted in any of those fields, the government said.

“I think that’s what they were asking for and that’s what we’re going to do…. It’s to protect the potato industry. We have to do it,” MacLennan said.

Potato wart was first discovered in the province in 2000 and has since been found in 38 fields. The province wants to purchase them all.

Potato wart detected on P.E.I. farm for the first time in 3 years

P.E.I. government says it’s in negotiations to buy around half of potato wart index fields

The provincial government has to this point purchased about 404 hectares, or 1,000 acres, at a cost of about $9 million. MacLennan said the spending was necessary.

“We have to protect our potato industry,” MacLennan said. “It’s so important to the economy of P.E.I. and this is just one of the ways that we can do it.”

Negotiations are underway to purchase another 1,000 acres, the province said — however, some landowners have not yet signed up to sell their land. MacLennan said those owners want to manage the land themselves, and notes “some of it’s been in their family a long time.” They have all agreed to never again plant potatoes in those fields.

The potato wart fungus is spread through the movement of infected seed potatoes and contaminated soil. It poses no threat to human health or food safety, but is known to decrease the number of potatoes that can be harvested and sold. (CBC)

Greg Donald, general manager of the P.E.I. Potato Board, said efforts to contain potato wart have been positive but it welcomes the province’s effort to remove that land from production.

“We have a really solid plan, probably a plan that’s a model for the whole world,” he said.

“By removing these fields from agricultural tillage, cultivation is a definitive measure that … guarantees there aren’t any risk from those fields, so it’s a good thing.”

Another case of potato wart was discovered in the province in May this year — the first on an Island farm since 2023 — and each time brings risks of more U.S. restrictions.

Greg Donald, general manager of the P.E.I. Potato Board, says efforts to contain potato wart have been positive. (Ken Linton/CBC)

On Oct. 5, new rules took effect surrounding potato exports from P.E.I. to the U.S. Potato waste will no longer be permitted for use as animal feed and must be disposed of at an approved site. The U.S. demanded stricter labelling and stronger certification standards for P.E.I. potatoes prior to export.

“There’s always a risk when we cross borders and do business with other countries, but from a plant health perspective, like with this quarantinable pest, there’s absolutely no need for additional measures,” Donald said.

“We’ve been … managing this risk for over two and a half decades, and I don’t think there’s anywhere else in the world that’s doing the job we’re doing.”