NOVEMBER 2019 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC Keeping BC farms (and farmers) growing


Feed BC is a game-changer as more institutions source BC farm products With the 2019 harvest wrapping up for most of BC’s farmers, this is often a good time to take a few deep breaths and reflect on the work done this year.


more than $6 billion worth being bought right here at home! Yes, many challenges


Viewpoint by LANA POPHAM


I have visited many farmers


over the summer and I can tell you that as Minister of Agriculture I continue to be excited and so proud of our producers. Farmers and ranchers are the backbone of communities throughout British Columbia. You are often up at the crack of dawn – in all kinds of weather – doing what it takes to care for animals and grow crops, and that puts food on our plates. With that in mind, I would


like to take this opportunity to write personally and directly to you to share some good news. I also want to tell Country Life in BC readers first about new efforts the Ministry of Agriculture is taking to help support strong, growing and diversified farming and ranching communities in BC. In 2018, we reached a major milestone as BC’s agriculture, seafood and food processing sectors hit record revenues of $15 billion for the first time ever. I am also really excited to report farm cash receipts in 2018 increased by 6% over the previous year. And the growth is not just with farm cash receipts. Seafood increased 10%, and food and beverage processing jumped 4% last year compared to 2017. In addition, more than 2,000 new jobs were created, bringing the total number of people working in BC’s agriculture industry to more than 63,000. BC food product sales hit


record-breaking highs in 2018 (the most recent year with finalized data available), including $4.5 billion in international exports and


remain and much more work must be done to ensure farmers and ranchers are well- supported and empowered to strengthen or grow their businesses. I also appreciate that we need to do a better


job communicating the changes made by Bill 52 and Bill 15. And yes, we need to make sure we continue to listen closely to additional changes you want to see. Our government knows


British Columbians want to have their say on how we can best support farmers while protecting farmland in the ALR. That’s why we launched another engagement process this fall to ask for feedback on how we can best accomplish three important goals: support farmers expand and diversify their businesses, help new or young farmers become established on their land and in their business, and ensure there is more flexibility for housing on the ALR – while protecting farmland. These consultations are all about listening to farmers and regular British Columbians. To that end, I hope you are aware of this effort: [http://engage.gov.bc.ca/supp ortingfarmers]. Even if you didn’t have a chance to participate in this, I am always open to hearing good ideas about what needs to change. My contact information is below.


And now I want to talk about new opportunities! Because of work undertaken by the BC NDP government over the last two years, there are many new opportunities for growing and selling food within the province. Growing local markets benefits the people of this province in many ways. It strengthens our food security, has the potential to contribute to our climate change goals, creates


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more jobs in the province and results in more of our hard- earned dollars being recirculated in our community. An initiative that I consider a game changer towards reaching this goal is our Feed BC program. This includes our efforts to increase the amount of BC food and beverages in our province’s hospitals. BC health authorities across the province have been inspired to take a new look at how they can offer patients more fresh BC-grown and locally made food and drinks. And we are already seeing amazing results. Interior Health was the first to get cracking and now purchases 600,000 shelled eggs a year from BC farmers. Northern Health has also very recently added new made-in- BC desserts to their menu. And they are now purchasing 5,700 more entrees per month from a BC processor, with plans to increase that soon. These are items that we have previously been purchasing outside our province. I had a chance to taste some of the meals being made at Interior Health, like turkey shepherd’s pie, and I have to say it was delicious.


Our analysis shows there


are strong opportunities for BC farmers and food processors in this market- place, especially in the following food items: chicken, turkey, beef, frozen


vegetables, frozen berries, frozen mashed potatoes, fresh salad, apple sauce and frozen soups.


Hospitals have specific


requirements, especially when it comes to food safety and nutrient quality – and they are large-volume buyers. To help BC farmers access this market, we are working hard to develop guidance and other supports. In fact, 38 BC food and agriculture businesses have already participated in business development training offered through Feed BC, building their capacity to access public institutions. I use “public institutions” on purpose because we are not just talking about hospitals. Smaller markets include senior or assisted-care facilities and non-health care government facilities. And then, of course,


there are other large buyers like universities and colleges. Stay tuned for new


announcements on this in the coming months. And if you would like more information on how to get involved, please free to contact me. Your work and your


support of our efforts to protect farmland is incredibly important to our province. You help keep agriculture strong in BC, now and for generations to come. I know you do lots to keep rural communities vibrant, put food on our tables and bring jobs to our communities and for that I sincerely thank you! Lana Popham, Minister of


Agriculture, British Columbia, can be reached at 250.387.1023, Agri.Minister@gov.bc.ca, PO Box 9043 Stn Prov Govt, Victoria BC V8W 9E2


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