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COUNTRY LIFE IN BC • JULY 2018


Food advocates grapple with rural-urban interface There’s no one answer to keep farmland farmed, Kwantlen researcher says


by PETER MITHAM


RICHMOND – Richmond’s long struggle with the rural-urban interface shows no sign of ending, if the concerns of the Richmond Food Security Society are any indication. The city has always struggled more than most with the divide between residential and rural properties, said former city planner Ian Chang, a director of the society, following guest speaker Naomi Robert’s presentation at the society’s annual general meeting on June 16. Robert had discussed the white paper she co-authored with Kent Mullinix of Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Protection is Not Enough: Policy Precedents to Increase Agricultural Use of British Columbia’s Farmland.


She highlighted the challenges


facing Richmond in the context of the report, touching especially on the role high land values play in making it impossible for local farmers to access land and keep it in production. There’s always a higher and better use drawing them away from the work of producing food for surrounding residents. “We have the most expensive farmland prices in the province, so getting this land into the hands of agricultural producers is difficult,” she said, noting the average price is $500,000 an acre. “There’s no


agricultural activity that can service the debt of $500,000 an acre, so it’s very attractive land for other uses.” However, there are


several strategies for encouraging land to stay in production.


These include tax


policies, such as increasing the threshold required to receive farm tax status, or taxing the lift in value when farmland is removed and rezoned to other uses.


ANITA GEORGY To this point, food-


producing land remains in short supply in the region, and this defines the challenge facing the Richmond Food Security Society.


During the annual general meeting proceedings that preceded Robert’s talk, the dozen voting members who attended heard of the society’s ambitious plans around


Regulating foreign or non-resident


ownership of farmland is another strategy, either by outright limits on ownership or making it contingent on keeping land in production. Greater transparency regarding ownership and use, such as exists in the UK, could also help monitor land stewardship. Creating agricultural enterprise


zones to serve as hubs for local food production and the businesses that serve them could also help.


No silver bullet “There is no silver-bullet solution,


there’s no one policy that, if we get it, we can check it off and move on and have a viable agricultural area,” she said. “These policies … need to be implemented as a suite.”


community garden plot development. Outgoing executive director Anita


Georgy, in reviewing the society’s efforts over the past year, said community gardens were one of the first initiatives the society undertook. The society supported 321 garden plots at nine sites over the past year, with “several hundred” more plots planned to address a lengthy waiting list. Some of these are planned for the Garden City Lands Agricultural Park, a city initiative the society supports. To facilitate connections between


young farmers and arable land, the society also introduced the Young Agrarians’ land-matching program to Richmond. To make sure farmland remains


available, the society engaged Richmond council on several occasions regarding residential


development bylaws. Georgy spoke several times, urging the city to implement strong regulations that protect farmland. “That debate is ongoing,” she said.


“The whole province is really watching to see what’s going on here.”


The society itself is in good financial shape, with plenty of assets supporting an annual outlay of $155,000.


Thanks to the Georgy’s efforts, the


society secured $121,000 in grants last year, and $149,500 in federal funding in 2016. Assets now exceed $130,000, much of it from unspent grants.


This contrasts with a dire financial position three years ago, when the society was on the verge of closing its doors. Society president Gerry Mulholland and treasurer Stephanie Fan both credited Georgy’s hard work with turning around the organization. The energetic Ian Lai, a chef and the brains behind the Richmond Schoolyard Society’s Kids in the Garden program, said he has big shoes to fill as Georgy’s successor. However, his ambitions are equally


large. “We want to make ourselves a household name,” he said of the society, something that he hopes to do through collaborations and partnerships with a broad range of stakeholder groups.


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