Nearly 70 farmers, ranchers and industry leaders from across British Columbia met in Victoria Oct. 28, bringing forward practical solutions to priorities on topics such as safeguarding the sector’s need for the temporary foreign worker program, securing access to water, and the mounting pressures on farmland and competing jurisdictions. Leaders from B.C. agricultural sector stresses that these issues are putting B.C.’s supply of food and other agricultural products at risk.
“By formally recognizing the B.C. agriculture sector as essential, government would be investing in a future-proof system that enhances public safety, community resilience and economic stability while ensuring British Columbia’s people, land and food systems thrive together,” says Jennifer Woike, president of BC Agriculture Council’s (BCAC).
“This demonstrates a commitment to our province’s resilience and provides British Columbians with confidence that their food supply is under their own control.”
BCAC annual Ag Day in Victoria is a day devoted to direct, solutions-based discussions with government. This year, the producers’ key ask was for government to recognize B.C.’s agriculture sector as an essential service which also means ensuring its critical needs are reliably met, so farmers and ranchers can keep supplying our province under even the most extreme conditions.
BCAC and its members met with Premier David Eby, Conservative leader John Rustad, Agriculture and Food Minister Lana Popham, shadow critic for agriculture Ian Paton, as well as 10 additional Cabinet Ministers, various MLAs, senior officials, and other key stakeholders. This year’s conversations are amplifying recommendations and discussions that have come out of the Premier’s Task Force on Agriculture and Food Economy and the Task Force on Trade and Tariffs.
Agriculture in B.C. generates close to $5 billion in annual farm revenue, supports over 30,000 jobs, and produces more than 200 different crops, livestock and seafood products making it one of the most diverse agriculture sectors in Canada. But with mounting financial and climate pressures, farmers say they need the right vision, backed by sound policies to keep producing food and agricultural goods for local communities and global markets alike.
“Farmers are problem-solvers by nature," says Woike. "They’re already leading the way on climate adaptation and finding efficiencies to keep their farm businesses going, but they can’t tackle skyrocketing costs, water security and trade competitiveness alone. That’s why days like today matter.
"There’s a real opportunity right now for industry and government to work together, through the task forces and beyond, to ensure there is a competitive operating environment for the generational turnover we are about to experience."
BCAC (bcac.ca) is the unified voice for the sector to government through its 29 member farm associations, representing over 20,000 farming families and approximately 96 percent of provincial farm gate sales in B.C. BCAC’s mission is to grow a strong, sustainable and competitive agriculture sector through building industry consensus and advancing public policy.