Islanders will soon be seeing a lot more about organic food production everywhere from country fairs to shopping malls.
The organic sector has been one of the fastest growing segments of agriculture over the past several years, not only in Prince Edward Island but right across North America. The industry has traditionally served a niche market but is now attempting to reach a wider marketplace.
To help the Prince Edward Island Certified Organic Producer's Co-op achieve that goal, a table top display and promotional materials are being developed that will travel the province in the months and years ahead. The group has received financial assistance from the Prince Edward Island ADAPT Council (which administers the Canadian Adaptation and Rural Development Fund in the province for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.)
“We are just putting the finishing touches on the display now,” said David MacKay, the group's executive director. “A lot of our members, especially Gary Ogle, have devoted a good deal of time to the project over the last few months.”
MacKay explained the idea is to take it across the Island wherever they could tap into a crowd - community fairs, the PEI Expo, agricultural meetings and church groups and malls. The display will include plenty of pictures and enough information on organic products and growing methods to give consumers basic information and to encourage conventional farmers that may be considering the organic route to explore the idea further.
“We considered putting all of the information on our Web site on the display,” MacKay said; “However, we didn’t feel many people would take the time to read it all in that setting — we will be preparing brochures that people can take home and we can direct them to our Web site for additional information.”
MacKay said several studies done on the organic sector indicate between 70-80 percent of all organic food consumed in Canada is imported. He added, “That gives us tremendous potential to increase our market share by educating consumers about the high quality of organic products that are grown locally.”
Consumers are placing an ever increasing importance on food quality and safety, and MacKay said the certified organic seal of approval on a host of Island products is the customer’s assurance the product was grown in a safe and environmentally friendly manner.
MacKay said representatives of the industry will be attending as many events as possible to answer any direct questions. He added, “We see this as a great way to help reach out to the non-farming public and tell them about the high quality organic products that are grown right here on Prince Edward Island.”
(This article is one of a series prepared for the Prince Edward Island Agricultural Awareness Committee to profile life on 21st century Island farms. Funding for this project is received from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.)