Although the number of certified organic growers in the province is still relatively small, it is one of the fastest growing segments of Island agriculture.
As far as Kevin Jeffrey is concerned, the roots of the present success can be traced back to a 1998 project the Prince Edward Island chapter of the Organic Crop Improvement Association (OCIA) carried out with funding help from the Prince Edward Island ADAPT Council. Jeffrey, who is now the executive director of Atlantic Canada Organic Regional Network (ACORN), then held a similar post with OCIA-P.E.I.
"It wasn't a huge amount of money, but we were able to do a lot of things with it," said Jeffrey, who manages the regional network from his home in Belfast. "The project did more to further the organic industry than any other single initiative in recent times."
Over the two year life of the project, the number of certified organic growers in the province doubled from 15 to 30. One facet of the project was to begin the development of a resource guide for organic growers--the rough draft was completed by OCIA-P.E.I. and later finished by ACORN.
"If a grower came to us seeking to enter the industry or to convert their operation to organic, we wanted to be able to provide them with resource material," Jeffrey explained. "A step-by-step guide, if you will, on how to grow and be certified organic."
The funding was also used to hold public information sessions in all three counties and a series of five workshops dealing with such topics as converting to organic production, understanding soils, weed management, crop rotation and organic pest control. An organic library was also created and established at the Crop and Livestock Research Station in Charlottetown.
To show how those lessons could be put in action, a five acre demonstration plot was established at the Macphail Historical Homestead. Kevin said the plot "clearly proved that organic crop rotation can be established while maintaining and even building soil fertility and keeping weed, pest and disease problems under control."
Finally, the funds allowed OCIA-PEI to attend trade shows, develop a website and print a brochure entitled "What on Earth is Organic" that is directed at consumers.
He said the project also helped raise the profile of the organic sector of the industry with the Department of Agriculture and Forestry. In the past two years, he said the province has appointed Susan MacKinnon as an organic specialist; provided start-up funding to ACORN; instituted research grants to help individual farmers develop their industry and this year paid the cost of growers wishing to become certified.
"Our industry has really grown through the hard work of a number of dedicated people," he said.
"The project seemed to be a catalyst for a lot of good things to happen."
This article is one of a series prepared for the Prince Edward Island Agriculture Awareness Committee to highlight innovations in the agriculture industry.