News Pest Management
National survey shows no potato wart in Canada

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has completed its 2023 National Survey for Potato Wart and confirms the pest was not detected in any of the soil samples tested. More than 2,000 soil samples collected from fields in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island (P.E.I.) were included in the survey.

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 P.E.I. 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).

“These results are good news for potato growers across Canada,” said Lawrence MacAulay, minister of agriculture and agri-food, in an official statement. “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.”

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 P.E.I. potatoes, including implementing the Ministerial Order to help to contain, control, and prevent the spread of potato wart in P.E.I., and protect this important sector of the Canadian economy. 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.