An online forum tonight will discuss a proposal to form an apple marketing commission, similar to what exists for vegetables and cranberries, to improve grower returns. A survey of 21 growers earlier this year by Vancouver consulting firm Ference & Co. for the New Tree Fruit Varieties Development Council, found that 81% were in favour …
Creston food hub opens
A long-awaited food hub officially opened its doors in Creston on October 15, the fruition of eight years of discussion, study and advocacy on the part of locals. Spearheaded by Fields Forward Society of Creston, the Kootenay Farms Regional Food Hub and Innovation Centre provides local growers and processors with processing equipment and facilities, an …
Province defrays COVID-19 costs
The province is offsetting the cost of special measures farmers took this summer to keep domestic workers safe from the risk of COVID-19. Between 1,500 and 2,000 domestic seasonal workers help with fruit harvest throughout the Okanagan and Creston areas each year. Without domestic workers, BC Fruit Growers Association labour manager Ron Forrest says “there …
Abbotsford updates farmland policies
Abbotsford has resumed efforts to update municipal agricultural policies, bylaws and regulations, and is preparing a framework for on-going bylaw compliance for ALR lands. The work was postponed pending the outcome of the province’s initiative in 2018 to revitalize the Agricultural Land Commission and Agricultural Land Reserve. Abbotsford was three-quarters of the way through its …
Canada’s food security rises
Canada has risen to No. 7 in the latest edition of the Global Food Security Index, released this week by Economist Impact. This year’s ranking indicates that Canada excelled at food safety net programs, nutritional standards and protein quality, as well as 11 other areas that included food safety, barriers to accessing food and food …
Food security demands out-of-box thinking
Food security has been a core public health program of the BC Ministry of Health since 2005. A food security model core program was released in 2006. The original program was updated in 2013. The paper outlines the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)’s definition of food security, and the four dimensions required to achieve …