Farmers need water to survive, P.E.I. Potato Board tells MLAs 

The P.E.I. Potato Board made its pitch to Island MLAs on the importance of water to growing potatoes.

The board appeared before a legislative standing committee looking for a sustainable irrigation strategy.

Greg Donald, general manager of the P.E.I. Potato Board, says the industry is competitive and irrigation ensures producers can consistently meet customers' demands. He said irrigation also ensures potato producers can survive, especially as the province sees more drought conditions.

"A reduction of 35 per cent in revenue can put a farm out of business," Donald told MLAs. 

"So it impacts our customers, current and long-term, and also for a producer it can be such a blow that they may not recover from it or it may take years [to recover from it] — so supplemental irrigation, it may not always mean a boost in productivity but at least maintaining it at a sustainable level," 

Earlier this summer, the potato board took MLAs on a tour of potato farms.

MLAs visited three farms, one which irrigates with a pond, another that uses surface water and a third that uses high-capacity wells.