Mr. Chair, this answer is a step in the right direction. However, I will ask the minister a more specific question. His first offer to farmers was rather modest. There was $5 million for the long-term recovery plan over a three-year period. As the minister himself mentioned, the acreage is small and not suitable for extensive corn production. The soil will also remain contaminated for a number of years because the golden nematode does not just disappear but remains dormant in the soil for several decades.
We will have to review the issue of markets. New crops cannot be planted until good market studies have been conducted and without a certain amount of market preparation or without knowing all the other players and creating a niche. It becomes rather complicated. There is also the matter of reputation. The minister is certainly aware that, since the arrival of the golden nematode, the municipality of Saint-Amable, the farmers, nursery workers and horticulturalists of that area have been subject to prejudice. The situation requires a complete repositioning. The warehouses and machinery were suited to the production of potatoes. If they have to change crops, they will need a transition program over a longer period of time.
The minister ordered an independent study that set the transition period at 10 years. It established the amounts required for the complete restructuring of the regional agricultural economy at about $30 million or $31 million. The farmers are prepared to provide up to 20% of that amount.
I would like the minister to tell us if the new offer will respect these parameters, which prevent the use of existing standardized programs. The farmers of Saint-Amable are in an extraordinary situation.