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Funding aimed at helping P.E.I. potato sector

The Canadian government has announced a combined contribution of more than $12.5 million for 27 businesses across P.E.I., saying it is commitment to work with the P.E.I. potato sector to ensure producers and the businesses that support them are positioned for long-term sustainable growth.

In the fall of 2021, the detection of potato wart disrupted sales of P.E.I. potatoes to the United States, threatening the livelihoods of thousands of Islanders. The Government of Canada launched the Prince Edward Island Potato Stabilization and Innovation Initiative (PSII) to help the industry recover.

“The Island’s potato industry is made up of many rural and urban based businesses, creating critical economic momentum in our province,” says Sean Casey, Member of Parliament for Charlottetown, P.E.I. “Federal support for this industry’s recovery not only helps hard-working growers and processors, it also has a very real ripple effect, strengthening many other sectors like advanced manufacturing and tourism.”

The PSII is a two-year $16 million initiative that aims to help small and medium-sized enterprises modernize, diversify and adapt to meet changing market conditions. The initiative supports investments in a range of areas including digitalization and automation, improved storage, development of value-added products and diversification.