Seed Potatoes -- photo credit to Potato Growers of Alberta

By Dori Modney with files from Alberta agriculture

Alberta officially free of Potato Cyst Nematode

Apr 9, 2021 | 3:33 PM

TABER, AB. — Trade prospects have improved for Alberta potato Growers, as the province has been deemed free of potato cyst nematode (PCN).

PCN is a destructive pest that lives in the soil, and is regulated under Alberta’s Agricultural Pests Act and is a federally regulated quarantine pest in Canada. It has the potential to dramatically reduce potato yields.

Alberta is the largest exporter of seed potatoes in Canada. According to the Potato Growers of Alberta, 50 per cent of seed potatoes grown on 10,000 acres in the province are exported, with the majority earmarked for the United States and international markets. So, even the suspected presence of PCN can be a challenge for producers looking to export their products.

The province being declared free of PCN, is the result of a team effort between an affected farm, the Government of Alberta, Potato Growers of Alberta, Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP) programming and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).

In 2007, the CFIA placed two fields in Alberta under a Notice of Prohibition, after routine testing raised suspicion PCN presence. It effectively halted production of potatoes in the fields, as well as years of restrictions and surveillance followed across the province.

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Other Alberta potato farmers were eventually able to resume export of seed potatoes to the U.S. in January 2009. However, the issue has continued to impact international market access for Alberta seed potatoes. Alberta’s government helped procure funding to get seed potatoes back in the ground. In total, 39 farmers, including the 2 with suspect presence of PCN, received $16 Million in federal-provincial assistance.

After more than a decade, the CFIA has removed the restrictions, after 2020 tests all came back negative.

More than $200,000 in Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP) Surveillance Program funding was dedicated to restoring the disease-free status and helped cover costs for farm inputs, as testing requires a crop is grown and then verified disease-free.

This announcement will help Alberta regain its billion dollar industry through market access and will lead to fewer restrictions, as growers pursue new markets.