Agriculture and Forestry Minister Mitch Murphy said today that a massive collaborative effort is underway to resolve the potato wart problem and re-open the U.S. borders to potato exports as soon as possible. He said his department is providing increased staff and financial resources to speed up testing for potato wart in cooperation with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the industry.
Three labs are now testing soils samples: St. John's, Ottawa and now Charlottetown, which is the lead lab in the investigation. There are 44 people collecting samples six days a week, with about 1000 samples being collected daily.
Since potato wart was detected less than three weeks ago, the federal and provincial governments and the potato industry have been working flat-out to resolve the problem. A task force, made up representatives of the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the Potato Board, are closely collaborating on all aspects of the investigation.
"I am very pleased with the cooperative efforts and hard work of everyone involved in order to demonstrate that this is an isolated incident and that it is under control," said Mr. Murphy. "With the increased testing, we hope to get the first results in the near future."
Mr. Murphy said his department has been doing everything that it can do to resolve the issue. This includes the hiring under contract of Ken Proudfoot, the leading North American expert on potato wart, providing additional staff and training to support the Canadian Food Inspection Agency collect and analyze samples, and purchasing additional lab equipment to speed up testing. "We have put the necessary resources in place to significantly increase the testing program and to get results more quickly," he said.
Two information meetings are scheduled for growers on Monday, November 13. Mr. Proudfoot will be presenting information on the nature of the disease and its control.
Mr. Murphy also met with federal Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Lyle Vanclief on Monday to emphasize the seriousness of the situation, and he has been in constant contact with other agriculture ministers across Canada, along with trade officials in Ottawa and Washington.
"I am very pleased with the close cooperation and support we have received for our efforts," he said. "We will continue to work closely together until this matter is resolved and the ban on exports removed."