New program to help farmers fight climate change
The Departments of Agriculture and Land and Environment, Energy and Climate Action are launching the Prince Edward Island Agriculture Climate Solutions Program to help Island farmers combat climate change.
The pilot, beginning April 1, 2021, will support activities in the field or on the farm that reduce greenhouse gases or that store carbon in the soil.
“Our government and our province’s agricultural sector are committed to addressing climate change. We will collaborate to increase carbon in our soils, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, and to build resiliency within the agricultural sector. Together we will help the industry adapt at the same time as we reduce agriculture’s impact on climate change.”
- Hon. Bloyce Thompson, Minister of Agriculture and Land.
Activities that will be supported under the program were drawn from the PEI Federation of Agriculture (PEIFA) report Developing Best Management Practices to Reduce or Remove Greenhouse Gases on Island Farms.
“The Federation of Agriculture is pleased to see the Province advance the work first started in our report,” said Ron Maynard, president of PEIFA. “Farmers face the adverse effects of climate change and know they are an integral part of the solution in reducing greenhouse gas emissions through the use of the latest sustainable farm practices.”
Supported activities include nurse cropping, extending rotations with perennial crops, no-till planting, willow tree planting, installing liquid manure storage cover systems, and improving grazing management systems. Other activities such as nitrogen management and ruminant feed additives will be explored through trials.
In the first year, $215,000 will be provided for greenhouse gas mitigation projects in agriculture.
The program is funded in partnership between the provincial government and the Government of Canada through the Low Carbon Economy Fund and supports PEI’s greenhouse gas reduction commitments under the Pan Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change.
Media contact:
Ron Ryder
Communications Officer
902-314-6367
rrryder@gov.pe.ca