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4 Ground for reform During last month’s meeting of agriculture ministers from across the


country, regulatory modernization was a significant issue. Governments that want to help agriculture grow shouldn’t put bureaucratic obstacles in the way.


And then there’s the question of clarity, which even farmland advocates


find sorely lacking at BC’s Agricultural Land Commission, a creature of legislation that operates independent of government. A year ago, a new government took the reins in Victoria with a promise to


protect farmland and – as the agriculture minister and her staff have said in countless public presentations – Grow BC, Feed BC and Buy BC. Most observers expected that it wouldn’t get any easier to exclude land from the ALR. But it hasn’t necessarily become any clearer what should be allowed within the ALR, either. One of the new government’s first moves regarding the land reserve was an arrangement allowing breweries to operate within the ALR, effectively caving to a campaign by a Sunshine Coast brewer that had set up first and asked permission later. The brewer won the backing of local government, which supported his challenge of regulations governing uses within the ALR. Similarly, local governments were causing a stir among some residents within the Islands Trust area by allowing activities on protected farmland that didn’t conform to the letter of the law. Many uses were conditional, but endorsed as though having full and final approval from the ALC. On the mainland, Richmond glibly allowed residential development on


protected farmland twice the size recommended in provincial guidelines – then turned around and banned farms with buildings totalling more than 8,073 square feet having any kind of impermeable base exceeding 10% of their floor area. The idea appealed to the province, which then effectively limited new cannabis farms to soil-based growing systems. But the rules aren’t entirely clear for soil-based agriculture, either, as Delta farmer Don Malenstyn knows. Malenstyn received fill from his municipality for years to build up his low-lying property but as soon as he began receiving fill from private sources to construct a cranberry bog, the ALC stepped in and


COUNTRY LIFE IN BC • AUGUST 2018


questioned his motives. He was asked to restore the property to its unimproved and sodden state. Confused? Abbotsford mayor Henry Braun is, especially after the ALC gave him guidance on what it expected of municipalities that wanted to exclude land from the ALR – then rejected the city’s application. The province says the best way to protect farmland is to work it. It solicited ideas earlier this year for revitalizing the ALC and the lands it oversees to ensure land stays in production. Clear, consistent interpretation and enforcement of its existing regulations and guidance to municipalities seems like a good place to start.


Facing a tenuous future of feeding the world


On July 11, 1987, the world’s human population reached five billion. The date was subsequently chosen by the United Nations to annually mark World Population Day. This year the human tally was estimated to be between 7.5 and 7.6 billion.


Our species hit the one billion mark about 1800. It took 127 years to double, then another 37 years to double again to four billion in 1974. The next doubling, to eight billion, is expected five years from now. World population currently


The Back Forty BOB COLLINS


increases by more than 83 million every year. For some real-world perspective, consider 83 million is approximately the combined


population of Canada, Australia, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. Every year. Predicting the future is a dubious pursuit but there is a growing consensus that the party will come to an end 30 to 50 years from now when the population climbs to between 10 and 12 billion, and the earth reaches its human carrying capacity – the point at which mortality from sickness and starvation will overwhelm the birth rate. The big question is what are 12 billion people going to eat and drink, and


how will they stay healthy? Given that 10% of the current population suffers from hunger, it is difficult to imagine feeding another four billion people. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 4.5 billion lack adequate sanitation and, subsequently, more than two billion people regularly drink water contaminated with feces. The WHO and World Bank also estimate that more than half of the world’s population lack basic medical services. The vast increase in the number of migrants subjecting themselves to risk and peril attempting to escape these circumstances is a clear signal of how wide-spread and dire the situation has become. Clearly, agriculture is the sole activity with the ability to feed the world. So,


why do so many people go hungry, what will change that reality and how will agriculture feed four billion more? Weighty questions all, but let’s take a stab at


them. Anywhere people live more than a half-day walk from where their food is


grown live with potential hunger. This demographic – most of the world’s population – depends on external infrastructure to put food on their plate. It could be a simple as a donkey cart of turnips delivered to the village square or as complex as a fresh farmed salmon delivered by air to a high-end restaurant halfway around the world. Or anything in between. The infrastructure that procures, processes, stores and delivers food is often


more expensive than the food itself. For many, hunger is a result of poverty – either they cannot afford to buy


what food there is, or no food is available because no one can pay for it. Politics can also play a disruptive role, often diverting food aid on the doorstep of its intended destination. Agriculture probably produces enough food to meet the basic nutritional


requirements of all the current world’s population. There are geographic, economic, social, political and even military realities preventing that outcome. What does the future hold for an endeavour that will have to feed another


four billion people in a matter of decades? Before we try to solve the puzzle, we need to acknowledge the realities of


changing climate, depleting resources and a deteriorating biosphere. Will agriculture even be able to maintain its current output, let alone conjure a 50% increase? What will be the economic and environmental costs? Some suggest the answer lies in a universal vegetarian diet supplied by


organic agriculture. Organic production is steadily growing and will likely continue to expand as input costs rise. Organic proponents claim organic production is more profitable, despite lower yields, because of reduced input costs and premium pricing in the marketplace. Lower yields and higher prices seem, at first blush, to fly in the face of pragmatically feeding another four billion hungry people. Ultimately, agriculture will rise to the challenge. Geopolitics and geo- economics will undoubtedly muddy the waters, but in the end it will come down to Mother Nature and the efforts of the small fraternity who facilitate this annual miracle.


Publisher Cathy Glover


The agricultural news source in British Columbia since 1915 Vol. 104 No. 8. AUGUST 2018


Published monthly by Country Life 2000 Ltd. www.countrylifeinbc.com


604-328-3814 . publisher@countrylifeinbc.com Editor Emeritus David Schmidt 604-793-9193 . davidschmidt@shaw.ca Associate Editor Peter Mitham news@countrylifeinbc.com


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