After months of community consultations and research, we have identified the biggest issues affecting agriculture and food security in the RDCK.
The Regional District is expected to adopt the Agricultural Area Plan in May — the first such plan in B.C. which incorporates food security as one of its primary goals. We are seeking final input from the public right now on the recommendations, so please go to the website (www.agplan.ca) today to rank the issues and priorities we’ve identified, some of which are identified below:
• Lack of educational and professional support services for start up and established farmers;
• The loss of supportive infrastructure such as storage, distribution, and supply options;
• A regulatory regime that is a bad fit for smaller scale farming and short supply chains;
• The threats to farmland and the Agricultural Land Reserve;
• The need to enable new or expanding farmers to get onto the farmland.
Paula Sobie
Vice-president, Kootenay Co-op