Greens put spotlight on agriculture
Party pledges to crack down on speculation and enhance protection of land if elected
Agriculture and food processing is a $13-billion-and-growing industry for British Columbia, but it still faces problems with land use and labour issues that could become fodder for the May 9 provincial election.
The B.C. Green Party made its bid to put agriculture on the provincial election agenda Wednesday by releasing a platform that highlights limits on provincial food production and aims to improve the province’s food security in an era of climate change.
The platform, unveiled by Green Leader Andrew Weaver at an event in Nelson, includes the promise of new legislation to crack down on land speculation within the Agricultural Land Reserve, enhance protection of agricultural land and increase the proportion of ALR land used to produce food.
Weaver promised to spend $30 million over four years on incentives for farmers, agricultural apprenticeship programs and marketing, then $40 million over four years to establish regional agricultural bureaus and fund research into adapting farming to climate change.
Weaver said voters would likely be surprised that the province imports 70 per cent of its vegetables, most of which comes from U.S. regions at risk due to extreme weather from climate change.
“B.C. has tremendous opportunity to grow the food British Columbians need here at home,” Weaver said, arguing the province’s capacity to do so has been eroded due to changes in the Agricultural Land Reserve, real estate speculation on farm land and labour shortages.
The Greens platform calls for legislation that would protect farm land for agricultural uses, as opposed to industrial developments such as mining or energy production, and restrict the construction of “mega-mansions,” which the party argues will keep the price of agricultural land affordable.
The NDP also zeroed in on B.C’s high proportion of food imports and problems in the ALR in its most recent campaign materials.
The NDP hasn’t released an official agriculture platform, but a day before Weaver announced the Greens’ policy, NDP Leader John Horgan unveiled a statement on agriculture during a campaign stop in Penticton.
Without specifics, Horgan promised to beef up protections for the ALR and support B.C. producers by asking hospitals and care homes to increase their purchasing of locally grown produce.
Horgan also promised to restore a more comprehensive “Buy B.C.” marketing program to connect B.C. farmers with markets locally and for export.
The B.C. Liberals called Weaver’s platform “out of touch” with farmers for ignoring trade in the Green policy.
B.C.’s agriculture and food-processing sector saw record exports of $3.5 billion in 2015 and the government’s jobs plan, a cornerstone of the Liberals’ re-election campaign, aims to increase the overall sector to a $15-billion industry by 2020.
“Today’s B.C. Liberals have made expanding markets and opportunities for farmers a priority because they represent family supporting jobs here at home for British Columbians,” said Norm Letnick, Liberal MLA for Kelowna-Lake Country and most recently agriculture minister.