A Surrey councillor is speaking out about the need to prioritize farming and agriculture in B.C. as food security becomes a bigger and bigger issue.
Mike Bose, a fourth-generation farmer, said B.C. should look at countries such as the Netherlands and Israel, which have limited farmland but have made “incredible investments in technology and innovation” to become major exporters.
“For instance, droughts in California will result in that state pulling back exports so they can feed themselves, and that puts British Columbia at risk,” Bose said in a statement.
“If we learned anything from COVID, it was the importance of being able to grow your own food to feed your community. Right now, we are relying too much on imported produce and products, because we have inflexible rules at the Agricultural Land Commission regarding food production and processing.”
Bose said every city, including Surrey, should cut the red tape that is needed to encourage entrepreneurs to invest in the agricultural sector.
“About one-third of our city is farmland, which is an incredible resource, but we need to do more to get added value and more food security from our land,” he added.
“If we don’t grow our agricultural sector, we will definitely see higher food prices and food shortages down the road.”
Bose said he will be bringing a notice of motion to the next council meeting that would ask the City of Surrey to call on the B.C. government to work with the agricultural industry and farming communities to make regulatory changes that would open up more opportunities for processing and food production.
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