Big Trouble for Small Farmers in British Columbia, Canada

By Natural Blaze

Curtis Stone is known as the Urban Farmer. For years he ran a successful market garden that he grew in urban yards in Kelowna British Columbia. Now he homesteads his property to feed his family and educates small farmers on profitable practices. In the video below, Curtis explains how land regulations are harming local farmers in Canada.

A group of independent small farmers in the area launched a petition to restore the rights of farmers:

These Bills were put forward by the BC Ministry of Agriculture without adequate consultation from the farming community and stand to jeopardize farming in BC. A survey used to support the changes had only 2600 respondents representing a mere fraction of the 51,000 parcels of land with farm classification. Listening to farmers and supporting diversification in farming is an integral component to sustainable agriculture and food security in BC.

Our farmers and ranchers are not being heard.

In the Ministry’s attempt to reach their goals of creating policy to revitalize the Agricultural Land Reserve and address issues such as excessive development and land affordability in the lower mainland, they’ve instead created policy that threatens the livelihoods and the homes of farmers throughout the rest of the province. These Bills exacerbate a significant problem farmers face of maintaining economic viability.

Our farmers and ranchers are not being valued.

We need the BC government to:

1. Restore the right of farmers to represent themselves directly to the ALC.
2. Restore the right of farmers to have two dwellings, unconditional to farm use.
3. Give equal opportunities for all farmers to diversify and sell value added farm products independent of alcohol production.
4. Encourage the revitalization of the Farmer’s Institutes of BC.

Key to revitalizing the agricultural land reserve is lending your support to initiatives that give opportunities to farmers to overcome barriers to economic viability.

If you value the protection of farmland, then join us in supporting our farmers and ranchers.

Repeal Bill 52 and Bill 15.

Sign the petition here.

Visit Curtis Stone at the Urban Farmer. Subscribe to him on YouTube. 

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