Potato growers’ feedback wanted in final response plan consultation

Potato growers are once again asked to give their feedback on a national potato wart response plan as the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) launches a final round of public consultations.

To date, the Canadian Potato Council, the Prince Edward Island Potato Board, the Province of PEI, and other stakeholders have been involved throughout the development of the new response plan, the CFIA said in a news release yesterday.

Recommendations from the International Advisory Panel on Potato Wart and input from previous consultations have also been  incorporated.

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The plan will be one of several complementary processes used by the CFIA to help manage potato wart and prevent its spread alongside measures like a national potato wart survey and phytosanitary export certification procedures, the CFIA said.

The final plan will replace the current Potato Wart Domestic Long Term Management Plan, and will apply to new detections of potato wart anywhere in Canada other than Newfoundland and Labrador.

The consultation closes January 6, 2025.

In late 2021, two processing potato fields on the island were confirmed infected with potato wart.

On U.S. trade concerns, the federal government shut down fresh potato exports from the province. Most trade resumed in April 2022.

The 2021 cases were followed by confirmations in February, July and December of 2022, bringing in export restrictions and mitigation orders.

The most recent national potato wart survey found no cases of the disease.