The B.C. Agriculture Plan
I. Producing Local Food in a Changing World
All British Columbians should have access to safe, locally produced food.
B.C. will enhance its market brand to profile high-quality products reflecting our province’s reputation for environmental sustainability and healthy living.
One hundred years ago British Columbians grew much of their own food. While the trend towards a global economy has over the years changed our food production and distribution patterns, we are now refocusing on local food as a result of climate, environmental and social realities. Increasing importance is being placed on producing local, healthy food and reducing our environmental and carbon footprint, thereby promoting the economic viability of the B.C. agriculture and food sector.
Local B.C. Foods
Strategy 1: Promotion of B.C. agriculture and food products at the provincial and local levels.
The tremendous regional differences in B.C. from a climatic, geographic, economic and demographic perspective have resulted in the most diverse agricultural production of any province in Canada. This diversity provides unique opportunities for promoting local food products, thereby reducing the distance from farm to plate and ensuring the supply of a wide range of fresh, healthy local food.
To ensure that B.C.’s agriculture sector can thrive in regional and local markets, B.C. products need to maintain their good reputation and become the products of choice for consumers who are overwhelmed with the wide selection of foods from around the world. We will work with sectors throughout the agriculture value chain – from producer to processor to retailer to consumer – to maintain a high level of consumer confidence and increased choice of B.C. food products.
An industry-led marketing program will be introduced to increase awareness of B.C. products, and we will develop a “food miles” initiative to create public awareness of the distance food products have been transported.
Community Food Systems
Strategy 2: Implement initiatives to strengthen community food systems.
The growing success of farmers’ markets and other direct farm marketing initiatives have had the effect of strengthening the connection between the people who purchase B.C. farm products and the farming and ranching families who produce them. These direct sales can contribute to reductions in greenhouse gas emissions associated with transporting food and can raise awareness of the variety and health benefits of B.C.-grown agricultural products.
We will also work with community and farm groups and local governments to help facilitate projects that will strengthen the systems in place within the community to bring locally produced food products to market. This will include the development of community gardens and bringing small agricultural lots into production in both urban and rural areas.
We will also continue to support other initiatives that serve to strengthen the connection between the people who produce food and those who consume it. Some farm families, for example, have diversified into food processing. Others are taking advantage of B.C.’s natural beauty by expanding into agri-tourism, which has become one of the fastest growing sectors in B.C.’s $10-billion tourism industry. Culinary tourism is an emerging concept, and agricultural fairs and exhibitions attract over 1.6 million patrons each year.
Local Food and Health
Strategy 3: Implement initiatives to improve childhood health using B.C. agriculture and food products.
Food is implicitly connected to nutrition and health. Healthy food choices are part of the Province’s important health promotion platform, ActNow BC. Promoting B.C. fruits, vegetables, milk and other food products as a source of healthy eating for British Columbians is playing a key role to help B.C. lead the way in North America in healthy living.
The School Fruit and Vegetable Snack Program and the B.C. Dairy Foundation’s Elementary School Milk Program are providing opportunities for school age children to make healthy food choices. These programs also provide an opportunity for students to learn about and experience fresh B.C. foods. The 2006 report by the Select Standing Committee on Health, “A Strategy for Combating Childhood Obesity and Physical Inactivity in British Columbia,” offered several key recommendations related to agriculture and food. These recommendations are being put into action.
A Safe, Secure Food Supply
Strategy 4: Promotion of human, plant and animal health, and food safety.
Measures to promote food safety, implement traceability systems and control plant and animal diseases are essential to achieve a safe, secure food supply into the future. For example, the recently enacted provincial Meat Inspection Regulation will ensure that all British Columbians have the protection afforded by consistent meat safety standards, no matter where in the province they live. The Province has supported the meat processing industry in adjusting to the requirements by providing a transition period, funding a $5-million Meat Transition Assistance Program and covering inspection fees to September 30, 2012. As a result, local licensed meat processing capacity is being developed across the province, promoting regional economic development.
To enable more extensive and rapid analysis for potential disease-causing agents, we are building a $14.5-million Containment Level 3 laboratory in Abbotsford as part of our Animal Health Centre. A Foreign Animal Disease Emergency Support plan has been developed to enhance B.C.’s response to occurrences of significant disease events. With respect to plants, the Ministry of Agriculture and Land’s five-year Plant Health Strategy is a strategic science-based approach to prioritize and address the plant health risks and issues that affect productivity, environmental sustainability and competitiveness of agricultural crops in B.C.
These initiatives will greatly improve the province’s protection of animal, plant and human health.
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| Source: Statistics Canada - Census of Agriculture 2006 |
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The Town of Smithers has a very active farmer’s market, located in the centre of our community that is well supported at the local level and is the key venue for producers of local agricultural products to market agricultural products. Local organic food production and marketing is a critical factor with respect to encouraging sustainability of food sources given rising fuel costs, global warming and related food security issues.
Why the interest in small farms? They produce local foodstuffs. They provide people an opportunity to make some income from farming. They generate green space values, valuable to everyone. They’re essential to the health of the small communities – who runs the volunteer fire department and all the other things that have to be done in small communities? In the longer term, their knowledge, their skills and their land will be essential for our future. So it isn’t just a matter of preserving land, it’s also about people knowing that land and being able to use it when the time comes. 
Circle Farm Tours began in the Agassiz area in 2003 and have since expanded to other regions. In 2007, the program was recognized by the Economic Development Association of B.C. for its creative community economic development.