Agriculture and Forestry Minister Eric Hammill says the new federal-provincial agreement on income disaster assistance was developed with the best interests of Prince Edward Island producers in mind, and that the department's major objective is to deliver funds to eligible producers as quickly as possible.
Prince Edward Island producers affected by significant income losses will receive up to $12 million over two years under the new Agricultural Income Disaster Assistance (AIDA) program finalized in late February in Victoria. The program, which is a whole-farm program covering all commodities, is cost-shared between the federal and provincial governments on a 60/40 basis. It complements support currently available under the provincial Agriculture Disaster Insurance Program (ADIP.)
"The Government of Canada will deliver its share of the program directly to our department, and because we already have an income disaster program in place, delivery of funding will be streamlined through one application," said Mr. Hammill. "Because trigger mechanisms for payment under the provincial program are the same as under the federal-provincial program, eligibility for one will determine the eligibility for the other."
The Minister said that Prince Edward Island is one the provinces prepared to deliver the program directly to producers, and that will mean less duplication. The federal government will be delivering the program in the remaining provinces through the Net Income Stabilization Account (NISA) offices in Winnipeg.
Mr. Hammill said the agreement will provide additional benefits for eligible producers in Prince Edward Island. For example, while AIDA does not cover negative margins, ADIP will continue to do so. As well, only arm's length wages will be considered as an eligible expense under ADIA. Linkage to the Net Income Stabilization Program is also different; under AIDA, support is reduced by potential government contributions to basic NISA in the support year (three percent of eligible net sales for the 1998 year.)
"In short, we will be processing applications to ensure that producers receive the maximum benefits under either program option," said Mr. Hammill. "We will be issuing one overall payment to each producer as quickly as we are able to assess applications."
Kais Deelstra, Manager of income support programs for the department, said that those already registered under ADIP will be automatically included in the federal-provincial AIDA program. He said that producers who are required to provide further information will be contacted individually. Applications for producers not already registered are now being accepted.
The maximum payment under AIDA is $100,000 for individuals plus 60 percent of the next $75,000. Maximum payment for multi-shareholder farms will be $350,000 plus 60 percent up to the AIDA limit. Maximum coverage will be up to 70 percent of gross margins averaged over the three previous years.
Applications and additional information can be obtained from the Prince Edward Island Agricultural Insurance Corporation at 368-4842.