Federal and provincial ag officials discussing new approaches for support of Prince Edward Island’s ag industry are “actively” considering a provincewide expansion of the ALUS program.
Now operating in pilot projects in two P.E.I. watersheds, and in other pilots in Manitoba, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta, ALUS (Alternative Land Use Services) provides financial incentives for farmers to take on new management practices and projects to protect soil, air, water and habitat resources.
ALUS, which was first developed by Manitoba’s Keystone Agricultural Producers and launched in that province in 2005, has been endorsed by several other farm groups including both the Canadian and P.E.I. Federations of Agriculture, the province noted.
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In a release Wednesday, P.E.I. Agriculture Minister Neil LcClair said his federal counterpart, Gerry Ritz, was “very responsive” to the proposal to expand ALUS provincewide.
ALUS “would enable producers to reduce costs while significantly improving their operations,” LeClair said.
LeClair said he, Ritz and P.E.I. Premier Robert Ghiz discussed several options to transition producers to “practices that improve the productivity and sustainability of their operations,” when the three met Friday in Ottawa.
Changes in support programs are needed to help the industry over the longer term, LeClair said, since ad-hoc and stopgap measures aren’t working.
