CANADA, November 20 - Funding is now available for agriculture operations across PEI who have been affected by extraordinary costs of restoring and rebuilding infrastructure due to Hurricane Fiona.

The Prince Edward Island Agriculture Fiona Recovery Fund (PEIAgFRF) is open to agricultural operations who experienced significant infrastructure damage on insured assets from Hurricane Fiona and were not able to fully rebuild or replace the infrastructure through disaster relief supports. The program is available through an $8.5M investment from the Government of Canada, through the Atlantic Canadian Opportunities Agency (ACOA), and will be administered by the PEI Department of Agriculture.

The PEIAgFRF will provide funding to those in the agriculture industry looking to re-establish or maintain the viability of PEI agricultural industry through building back better, as well as to those looking to repair/rebuild/restore infrastructure and farm equipment to their regular capabilities pre-Fiona.

A full list of eligibility requirements will be available in the coming days on the PEIAgFRF webpage, however, farms and agricultural operations must have an immediate need, quantifiable loss or damage as a result of Hurricane Fiona. Eligible producers must have also exhausted all other sources of financial assistance including the Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements (DFAA), federal and provincial programs, and insurance.

More information, including how to apply, will be available on the PEI Agriculture Fiona Recovery Fund webpage in the coming days.

Quotes:

“Many farmers on PEI are still dealing with devastation Hurricane Fiona brought, and we have been there to help on the journey to recovery. This program, made possible by ACOA, will help people in the agriculture industry across PEI get back to doing what they do best.”

-    The Honourable Gudie Hutchings, Minister of Rural Economic Development and Minister responsible for ACOA

Prince Edward Island’s agriculture and agri-food sector is the backbone of our local economy, and was severely affected by the devastation of Hurricane Fiona. We are proud to support the recovery of our Island farmers which will, in turn, strengthen and benefit our communities across the province.”
-    The Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food

As we all know, Hurricane Fiona was the worst storm to ever hit our region, and adversely impacted our local agriculture industry. Damage from the high winds and rain significantly impacted infrastructure and in some cases continues to hinder agricultural operations across the province. Our local agriculture industry is a leading economic driver that supports communities across the Island, and providing this funding to those still dealing with a significant burden of rebuild and recovering will help drive our industry forward.

-    Hon. Bloyce Thompson, Deputy Premier, Minister of Agriculture for Prince Edward Island

Media contacts:
Sharon McGuigan                      
Manager of Communications  
Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
Sharon.McGuigan@acoa-apeca.gc.ca

Kip Ready
Senior Communications Officer
Department of Agriculture
kjready@gov.pe.ca