Apple growers in the Canadian province of Ontario are dismayed that their federal and provincial governments have rejected their application for disaster relief funding. In its place, an announcement was made allocating C$2 million (£1.26m) of funding to assist apple and other tree-fruit growers with frost mitigation planning.
“We appreciate the government’s commitment to investing in frost mitigation strategies so that we can be better prepared to deal with these kinds of situations in the future,” said Brian Gilroy, chair of the Ontario Apple Growers. “We are disappointed by the response from our federal and provincial governments to this crisis situation in our sector. Our crop losses have resulted in no income this year, leaving many farmers in dire financial situations.”
The Ontario Apple Growers and Ontario Tender Fruit Producers had applied to the AgriRecovery programme for funds to assist farmers affected by unprecedented weather damage to last year’s crops. The programme is cost-shared between the federal and provincial governments and is designed to provide financial support to farmers affected by natural disasters.
Early summer-like weather in 2012 brought blossoms early, which were then damaged when they were exposed to frost and cold temperatures. Approximately 90 per cent of Ontario’s apple crop was lost, and cherry, pear and plum crops were severely damaged.
