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Reliance on potatoes puts NB ag in peril: prof

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Reliance on potatoes puts NB ag in peril: prof

Susan Machum, the Canada research chair in social justice and
a professor at St. Thomas University, said the reliance on potatoes in New
Brunswick's agricultural sector is a disaster waiting to happen.

June 21, 2011,
Fredericton, NB – Susan Machum, the Canada research chair in social justice and
a professor at St. Thomas University, said the reliance on potatoes in New
Brunswick's agricultural sector is a disaster waiting to happen.

Potatoes are the
province’s largest agricultural commodity, spanning 200 farms and 50,000 acres.
In the 2006 census, New Brunswick farmers reported working 375,590 acres of
cropland.

Machum said when there is
so much weight placed on a specific crop, a single disease can wipe out an
entire growing season.

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