No tips yet from PEI’s ALUS

Prince Edward Island is the first province to “announce” a province-wide Alternative Land Use Services (ALUS) program. So I assumed that Islander farmers now have a program in place that pays them for doing things — like investing in fences to keep cattle out of rivers or building berms to stop field run-off — that benefit the “greater good.” But they don’t. This morning I talked to Mike Nabuurs, policy manager for the PEI Federation of Agriculture (the equivalent of KAP, APAS or Wild Rose in the Prairie provinces). Mike says there is no policy yet to describe what actions qualify for ALUS and how much farmers will be paid for doing those actions. The province has budgeted $750,000 for the program in 2008, but how they will pay out that money is “uncertain,” Mike says.

The province has two two-year pilot projects on the go, with 50 farmers participating, but each project has a full year left before it will be ready to make recommendations.

ALUS is the brainchild of Manitoba farmer Ian Wishart, who is now president of Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP). The idea is that farmers should be compensated for steps they take to improve the environment for the benefit of all citizens. A KAP news release sums it up like this: “ALUS will provide incentives to farmers who maintain and enhance the environmental goods and services that exist on their land — things like riparian areas, waterfowl and wildlife habitat, clean water, flood control, and carbon sequestration. Farmers will be paid for these services through financial payments, tax credits, and other incentives.”

ALUS pilot programs are also ongoing in Manitoba and Ontario, and Alberta and Saskatchewan might start some soon. While PEI’s announcement is another step forward for ALUS, we still don’t have a defined program anywhere that will put money into farmers’ hands.