APRIL 2017 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC FARM folds
Decision to dissolve leaves void on council for small agriculture
by TAMARA LEIGH PRINCE GEORGE – The
organization that represents community agriculture at the BC Agriculture Council table has folded. On February 22, directors of the Food and Agriculture Responsibility Members’ (FARM) Community Council unanimously agreed to dissolve the organization and disperse any remaining funds to the BC Agriculture in the Classroom Foundation. FARM Community Council
was formed in 1996 at the request of the BC Minister of Agriculture to be a unified voice representing a collective of farmers’ institutes in BC. The original members included the six district farmers’ institutes, the BC Women’s Institute, the BC Farm Women’s Network, the Certified Organic Associations of BC (COABC), Cornucopia Coalition, the Direct Farm Marketing Association and FarmFolk CityFolk. By 2017, only the Smithers Farmers Institute, District "C" Farmers Institute and the BC Sheep Federation were members. “Part of the problem was that the BC Agriculture Council dues are up to a point where FARM is running a deficit,” says Jim Tingle, president of FARM for the past two years. “Members didn't feel we were getting full value for our money. We fed information down to BCAC, but we were not getting information back. It seemed to be a one-way street.”
The member levy
requested to fund BCAC’s public trust campaign put additional pressure on the small organization and contributed to FARM’s decision to withdraw from
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BCAC in January. Both FARM and COABC voted against funding the public trust campaign. “The way one of our
directors put it, the organic grower or direct farm marketer – we need the public trust to sell our product. We're selling direct to the consumer,” says Tingle. “We don't see need for the campaign when the smaller farmers have already built public trust or they wouldn't be successful selling their product.”
No voice
The loss of FARM means that community agriculture no longer has a voice at the BCAC table. While more intensive agricultural operations represent the highest direct economic impact, in many parts of the province, small farms are still important to local food production and economies. “The greater geographical
part of the province, and the biggest number of people involved, is through smaller- based agriculture in the province,” says Roma Tingle, FARM’s treasurer and a founding director. “Financially, the bigger commodity groups do make up a bigger piece of the pie but local farms and ranches are selling their products into their communities and making an impact.”
Jim and Roma Tingle say FARM's demise leaves small producers without a voice. MYRON GORDON PHOTO
The Tingles are concerned that smaller producer interests will not be represented by the larger commodity groups, putting their interests at risk of not being included in discussions on regulatory issues like food safety and traceability. Others, like Janet Thony
from District “A” Farmers Institute, see the dissolution of FARM as an opportunity for farmers’ institutes to reclaim their role in advocating for farmers. “There’s a lot of collateral damage because there are organizations like the BC Sheep Federation who will not be able to afford to belong to BCAC. It was
costing FARM thousands of dollars to maintain half a seat. What small organization can maintain that and not get representation?” says Thony. “BCAC is not the only general farm organization in BC. There’s a 120-year old farmers’ institute system that advocates for farmers. We need to use our right under the act and meet directly with the minister,” she adds. In recent years, District “A”
Farmers Institute has used the Farmers and Women’s Institute Act to secure an annual meeting with the BC Minister of Agriculture and voice concerns on behalf of their member institutes on
Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands and the Sunshine Coast. Meanwhile BCAC is aware of the gap that FARM leaves on the board. “We haven’t had a discussion at the board table, but community agriculture is a valuable part of the conversation and part of BC agriculture. We have to give community agriculture and those groups the freedom to decide what to do next,” says Reg Ens, BCAC’s executive director. “BCAC facilitates the members working together, but we don’t do the work for them. We’ll have to see what they want, and how we can help.”
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