CFIA: Potato Wart Not Detected in the 2023 National Soil Survey
After completing its 2023 National Survey for Potato Wart, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has confirmed that no soil sample tested contained any signs of the pest.
The survey included more than 2,000 soil samples taken from fields in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island (PEI).
“The survey builds on the results from previous national surveys for potato wart, as well as specific and general visual potato wart surveillance that has been ongoing in PEI since 2000. These activities provide data to demonstrate the effectiveness of control measures, such as the Ministerial Order, that are in place. Surveillance and control measures help to minimize the impact on market access for all of Canada’s potatoes which is the country’s fifth-largest primary agriculture crop. The national survey results have been provided to provinces, the Canadian Potato Council, and the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS),” according to a recent press release.
CFIA will continue using science to inform its evidence-based decision-making in managing potato wart and is committed to creating a path forward for PEI potatoes, including implementing the Ministerial Order to help to contain, control, and prevent the spread of potato wart in PEI and protect this important sector of the Canadian economy.
“These results are good news for potato growers across Canada. The continued collaboration between the CFIA and industry is vitally important to contain, control, and prevent the spread of potato wart, and we will do everything we can to keep the potato sector strong and maintain our key export markets,” Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food of Canada, declared.
The CFIA recently invited stakeholders, the provinces, and trading partners to share their input into risk management documents to help inform the new National Potato Wart Response Plan which the CFIA plans to share a draft of with stakeholders for comment this spring.
Potato wart is an extremely persistent soil-borne fungus that may reduce yield and potato tuber quality on farms. It can spread through the movement of soil, farm equipment, and potatoes from fields that have potato wart.
Canadian farmers produced a record crop of 6.5m tons of potatoes in 2023 representing 22% more potatoes than Canada’s 2020 crop and 3.7% higher than 2022.
