The federal government’s $252-million COVID-19 support package for the agriculture industry has not received a ringing endorsement from the P.E.I. Federation of Agriculture.
The support package was described as an “initial amount” by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday. The package includes funding support for food processing plants, funding for the AgriRecovery Program for beef and pork producers and funding to purchase unsold products, including potatoes.
Ron Maynard, president of the P.E.I. Federation of Agriculture, said the funding support is helpful but far from comprehensive. The Canadian Federation of Agriculture had requested $2.6 billion in support.
"It's 10 cents on the dollar. So it's better than nothing, but it's closer to nothing than what's needed," Maynard said.
"There's some commodities that are not hurting very much and there's other commodities that are devastated."
Pork and beef producers, in particular, have also faced challenges due to the pandemic. The closure of two processing plants in Alberta due to COVID-19 outbreaks among workers has disrupted supply chains throughout the country.
But Maynard said uncertainty remains for vegetable and horticulture producers.
Some of the federal announcements appear to have been anticipated by recent provincial funding. The provincial government recently announced $8.8 million in funding to make risk management programs more accessible and $4.7 million to help store unsold potatoes from the 2019 growing season.
Maynard noted the funding support for the agricultural industry has come almost two months into the pandemic.
"Mother nature doesn't wait for government or COVID or anything," Maynard said.
"This is the month of May and this is when you're planting."
