The Prince Edward Island government plans to relocate its provincial Agricultural Insurance Corp. (AIC) head office out of Charlottetown to Kensington by the end of next week.

The province said Friday it will close AIC’s Building 19 office at the federal Research Station property in Charlottetown on Wednesday (Oct. 9) and reopen it at 7 Gerald MacCarville Drive, the former Potato Services Building the province owns in Kensington, on Friday (Oct. 11).

AIC’s move to Kensington was first announced in July 2012; at that time the relocation was expected to take place in spring this year.

The move “reflects government’s commitment to create new economic opportunities in rural communities across the province,” Agriculture Minister George Webster reiterated in a release Friday.

The relocation “will transfer agricultural jobs to the heart of the farming community and will provide services from a central location, making more efficient use of government assets,” Webster said last July.

Furthermore, he said Friday, the relocation “will save government money as AIC moves from a rented facility to a provincially owned building.” The Potato Services Building had been “underutilized,” the province noted last summer.

AIC is the P.E.I. Crown corporation that provides production insurance and administers federal/provincial income support programs such as AgriStability and AgriInvest for Island farmers.

AIC now has 42 permanent and casual staff including field representatives. — AGCanada.com Network