Home grown food is smart growth.

Farming in BC makes cents:

Why is Agricultural Land Important? 

Fertile land is a valuable but scarce resource: 

• 5% of BC’s land is suitable for farming; only 1% of that has the best soil with the highest capability for growing crops.
• The Lower Mainland, Southern Vancouver Island, and Okanagan have the majority of the high quality soils in BC.
• 79% percent of BC residents live next to land responsible for 78% of BC’s farm revenues.
• BC’s agricultural sector supplies lesss than 50% of the province’s food requirements.
• A healthy agricultural sector helps diversify the provincial economy.
• Local food production reduces our dependence on imported foods and associated costs and impacts.
• Diverse farmlands create a variety of wildlife habitats and support bio-diversity.
• Open, green spaces near urban areas provide scenic landscapes, recreation opportunities, and contribute to our enjoyment of BC’s outdoors.
  

BC Farmers Need Our Support

• 38% of BC farmers are over the age of 55
• 50% of farm sales average less than $10,000 annually
• most farm operators rely on an off-farm income (second job)
• 41% of farmed land is leased or rented from other owners

Most of the ALR is located in the North (around the Fort St John and Williams Lake areas) where soils are of poorer quality and products are located further from the biggest markets.

To learn how the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC) works click here.

Governments Can

• Request a meeting with Smart Growth BC staff;
• Provide no support for ALR exclusion, subdivision, or non-farm use applications;
• Talk to a Professional Agrologist in your area;
• Set up minimum lot sizes that are large enough to discourage subdivisions (minimum of 8 hectares); 
• Suport the establishment of a local Agricultural Advisory Committee (AAC) if one does not already exist; 
• Work alongside the ALC when reviewing any land use plans (OCP, Regional Growth Strategy, Zoning Bylaws, etc);
• Join the ALR Watch listserve for a province-wide discussion;
• Keep the lines of communication between government, local producers, and farmland advocates open and transparent.

Citizens Can

• Talk to staff at Smart Growth BC
• Contact your local government to discuss their support for the ALR;
• Talk to a Professional Agrologist in your area;
• Hold a meeting to discuss threats to local farmland and strategies to protect it;
• Circulate a petition stating your opposition to the loss of farmland;
• Make a presentation to your local council;
• Discuss the matter with your local Agricultural Advisory Committee (AAC) - or set up an AAC with the help fo the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands;
• Talk to everyone you know (and everyone they know);
• Write to your local paper (letter to the editor, op-ed, etc.);
• Make an effort to purchase BC-grown products at your local grocer;
• Ask your local grocer why more BC-grown products are not available, or not highlighted;
• Sign up for the ALR Watch listserve to join a province-wide discussion;
• Find out about the work of other community groups like SPADE, ALERT, and ALR-PEC (see links below).

Members of S.P.A.D.E. - Saving Penticton's Agriculture from Division and Extinction

Resources - Smart Growth BC

• Smart Growth BC's Urban and Rural Containment Boundary Position
  
• Smart Growth BC's Position on the ALR
• Join Smart Growth BC's ALR Watch Listserv (send email)
• BC's Agricultural Land Reserve - A Legal Review of the Question of Community Need (2007)
• Citizens Guide to Protecting Agricultural Land in BC (2005)
• State of the ALR Report (2004)
  

Resources - Other Organizations