Plant health, potato marketing, wireworm control and plant breeders’ rights were just some of the topics discussed at the March meeting in Quebec City.
The Canadian Potato Council and the Seed Potato Subcommittee met jointly on March 10, just prior to the Canadian Horticultural Council’s 93rd Annual General Meeting in Quebec City, Que. Forty members and observers representing provincial potato grower organizations, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and provincial governments attended the meeting.
Plant Health
The CPC is part of the Potato Expert Group of the North American Plant Protection Organization (NAPPO), which is a forum for public and private sectors in Canada, United States and Mexico to collaborate in the regional protection of plant resources and the environment while facilitating trade. Plant protection and trade facilitation are achieved through the development and implementation of science-based standards and related plant protection activities that are directed towards preventing the introduction and spread of regulated plant pests.
The Potato Expert Group is currently working on alignment of North American regional standards with international standards for the entry of potato micropropagative material and minitubers into NAPPO countries. The outcome would be entry into Canada (and other NAPPO countries) of plant material with reduced post-entry requirements, provided such material is produced in a facility meeting designated standards.
The continued testing of fields for the presence of potato cyst nematode (PCN) continued in 2014, with 13,144 samples tested in CFIA’s National Detection Survey. This sampling represented 24 per cent of the certified seed production acreage in Canada. No detections were reported. Since 2006, 244,701 samples have been tested in the survey, all with negative results.
In a discussion of the revised PCN guidelines that were implemented in May 2014, questions have been raised regarding the interpretation of what defines a “field” in relation to historical soil sampling and testing. It is hoped that an agreement between CFIA and the United States Department of Agriculture will soon be reached on the revised definition of a field and the associated use of historical testing data.
Potato Wart Update
At the March CPC meeting, CFIA provided an update on potato wart testing and detection, management of the disease and export requirements. The agency’s surveillance activities include post-harvest field inspection, tuber inspection at harvest or entering storage or leaving storage, and soil sampling. A total of 18,854 soil samples were taken in 2014 and 16,662 had been tested at the time of the CPC meeting. Since then, testing has been completed on all remaining samples.
A U.S. Federal Order was released by USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service in January, allowing seed to be imported into the United States from Prince Edward Island if it originated from non-regulated fields that tested negative for potato wart and potato cyst nematode.
In terms of other seed related issues, importers and growers purchasing seed from the United States are encouraged to request the North American Certified Seed Potato Health Certificate from the exporter. This contains information required to establish equivalency of the seed to Canadian requirements, including history of bacterial ring rot testing on the seed lot.
Unlike the situation in Canada where CFIA accredits private testing laboratories, there is no such approval process in place for USDA approval of private laboratories conducting testing in the United States. This has been raised as a serious concern by the CPC, and we understand that the USDA will develop an accreditation/approval process for testing facilities in the U.S. in the coming year.
CFIA provided a presentation via conference call on the status of e-Phytos electronic certification system in the plant health area. CFIA’s new Electronic Service Delivery Platform (ESDP) is just starting to be designed and built. Deployment of the platform, which will include building client profiles, training CFIA and industry personnel and staged deployment of export certificates, will start in April 2016 and end in June 2017.
All entities that deal with CFIA will be registered in the ESDP, and exporters will be able to apply and monitor the progress of their applications online. Certificates will be issued electronically to importing countries. A National Export Service Centre will be established to process applications.
Marketing and Promotion
A national promotional media campaign was developed by the CPC Promotion and Marketing Working Group and the United Potato Growers of Canada, with a focus on the health benefits of potatoes and debunking nutritional myths. Different media options were looked at and Rogers Media properties (Chatelaine and Today’s Parent) were selected for the campaign, which ran ads in the February/March issues of the magazines.
The cost of the campaign was shared among provincial potato organizations, with each regional contribution based on 2013 fresh potato acres. The CPC is appreciative of the matching funds provided by Ottawa’s Growing Forward 2 program that helps support this initiative through the AAFC AgriMarketing Program.
The CPC also endorsed moving forward with the next phase of a project examining the feasibility of establishing a National Promotion and Research Agency (NPRA) for potatoes. This phase includes broader consultation on a province-by-province basis with a wide range of stakeholders including growers, processors, importers, retailers and other interested groups.
The purpose would be to provide stakeholders with facts regarding the establishment of an NPRA, act as a forum for discussion and to determine areas of support or concern. Funding is currently being sought to partially support this next phase of the project.
Research
The CPC Research Working Group is responsible for co-ordinating research priorities and implementing research projects to address those identified priorities. Potato research projects totalling $8 million (including an industry contribution of $2 million) under the Canadian Agri-Science Cluster for Horticulture 2 program are ongoing for the period spanning April 2013 to March 2018. Interim progress reports for each of the six funded potato projects are now available on the CHC website at hortcouncil.ca/projects-and-programs/agri-science-cluster2.aspx.
In addition to these research projects, a new proposal for work on late blight was submitted to AAFC by the CPC Research Working Group earlier this year.
Wireworm Control
The CPC continues to advocate for the continued use of phorate (Thimet 15-G) for controlling wireworm in potatoes. Activities include the submission of a benefits and current potato production package to the Pest Management Regulatory Agency and meetings with senior agency officials.
Since its March meeting, the CPC has developed and distributed to provincial organizations a best management practices factsheet describing the identified environmental risks associated with Thimet 15-G use, and application practices that can be adopted by growers to reduce and mitigate risks.
The CPC also successfully requested that the Pest Management Regulatory Agency extend the last date of sale by retailers and distributors by 30 days to June 1, in order to accommodate planting dates that had been delayed by a late spring in Atlantic Canada.
Seed Tuber Inspection
Exports of seed potatoes to Canada’s largest customer were jeopardized when the federal government announced CFIA would stop providing seed tuber shipping point inspection services by April 2014, prompting the USDA and American growers to respond that seed grower tuber inspection under a CFIA-audited process known as the Seed Potato Tuber Quality Management Program was not acceptable.
The CPC continues to work toward resolution of seed potato tuber inspection at time of shipment for exports to the United States in co-operation with AAFC, CFIA and provincial governments, by considering feasible options moving forward to ensure continued export of seed potatoes to the United States. We appreciate Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz’s assurance that CFIA will continue to conduct full shipping point inspection until an acceptable alternative can be found.
Plant Breeders’ Rights
The CPC (representing Partners in Innovation, a coalition of leading Canadian farmer and agriculture groups) and the Potato Growers of Alberta presented to both the House and Senate Standing Committees on Agriculture in support of amendments to Plant Breeders’ Rights in Canada.
The CPC is very pleased with the legislative changes now in force that grant extended protection of new varieties. Six potato varieties were among the first crop varieties to be granted extended protection under the standards established by the International Union for the Protection of New Plant Varieties (UPOV91).
