AITC funding in limbo

The province has missed a deadline to fund the BC School Fruit and Vegetable Nutrition Program, an initiative of the BC Agriculture in the Classroom Foundation.

AITC had asked the province for a response by May 10 so it could make arrangements with farmers and prepare to roll out the program when a new school year begins this fall.

While the province expanded the agriculture ministry’s budget this year, including funding for local purchasing programs, it has yet to find the $3.5 million in funding AITC requested.

The misstep jeopardizes the future of a program that supplies hundreds of students across BC with local produce.

BC agriculture minister Lana Popham came under fire in the legislature on May 11 for missing the deadline, with Opposition MLAs questioning her priorities.

“Can she please explain why her government is eliminating funding for a program that has provided half a million students with fresh BC fruits, vegetables and milk?” Abbotsford West MLA Mike de Jong asked.

Delta South MLA and agriculture critic Ian Paton noted in a press release that farmers also stand to lose.

“Why would the minister abandon a program that not only supports students, but farmers as well?” he asked. “More than 1,000 BC farmers stand to lose income from growing and providing products for this important initiative. It is a win-win for everyone involved, yet the minister hasn’t been in a hurry to act to save it.”

Popham acknowledged the importance of the program but noted that funding to date has been from the BC Ministry of Health. She indicated that the next round of funding would be through Feed BC.

The mandate letter she received last fall outlined partnerships with the BC Ministry of Education to expand Feed BC to primary and secondary schools.

“We will be working together with the association and the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education to look at how a program can continue,” she told the legislature.

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1 day ago

The committee of MLAs charged with setting priorities for the next provincial budget is recommending regular, annual funding for water storage infrastructure associated with food production, including for engineering inspections, maintenance and upgrades. The recommendation builds on the BC Cattlemen's Association's recommendation of an annual allocation of $5 million for water storage infrastructure related to food production, noting that it could also support resilience in the face of climate-related events. While the province has allocated $120 million for agricultural water infrastructure, agriculture minister Lana Popham told Country Life in BC this week that other ministries and the federal government will need to be involved in funding future p#BCAgts#BCAgCAg

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A typical small-to-medium farming operation featuring a house, main barn, and machine shed generally has around 8,000 to 12,000 square feet of total roof surface. The Okanagan Valley is one of the driest regions in Canada, averaging roughly 300 millimetres (11.8 inches) of annual precipitation. Storing a full year's collected rainwater from those roofs yields roughly 262,500 litres. In the three regional districts that make up the Okanagan valley proper (North Okanagan, Central Okanagan, and Okanagan-Similkameen), the 2021 Statistics Canada Census of Agriculture records roughly 3,100 total farms. Multiply that number by 262,500 litres of harvested rainwater equals 813.75 million litres of water saved per year. Capturing that volume of water across every farm roof in the region would significantly ease peak summer pumping pressure on local groundwater aquifers and Okanagan Lake.

Fantastic!! We will work hard to be involved and do what we can as well as a collective group on the Salmon River!

Absolutely! Long over due and very welcomed. Let's make this happen.

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2 days ago

About 40 community members gathered at Silver Creek Community Hall near Salmon Arm last Thursday to discuss ways to improve water availability for both farms and spawning salmon. While the province has since rescinded a fish protection order for the watershed that shut down irrigation, future risks to water access remain top of mind. "We are here because water matters to each of us," says rancher and organizer Trudy Schweb. Farmland Riparian Interface Stewardship Program manager Lee Hesketh outlined the potential for upland water storage while Rob Dinwoodie highlighted cost-shared funding opportunities through the Environmental Farm Plan program for riparian assessments, irrigation efficiency upgrades and other water-related projects available to producers. Photo credit | Facebook/Trudy Schweb

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Salmon River Watershed Roundtable should be looked into again.

Well done my girl,the voice of Silver Creek ranchers and more

Thanks for covering this🌟

The BC Fruit Growers Association is urging Greater Vernon Water and the Regional District of North Okanagan to halt water shut-offs hitting 2,100+ acres of Okanagan orchards mid-season. With losses potentially topping $250 million, fruit growers say decisions of this scale demand a coordinated plan with farmers and the province — not one-sided cuts. They’re not the only producers affected by this year’s dry conditions.

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VERNON – Water restrictions intensified across the southern Interior in late July, with record low stream flows clouding the cash outlook for ranches and orchards. Fourteen agricultural water users�...

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Food should ALWAYS come first. Allow the farmers their water. My grandad watered the apples by flume from the mountain. Let’s get on with AG and get out of the way!

3 days ago

The BC Fruit Growers Association has joined Apples Canada, a new national voice for provincial apple organizations in BC, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Charles Stevens of Ontario chairs the new group, an evolution of the apple working group within Fruit & Vegetable Growers Canada (FVGC), the new group will tackle production, sustainability, research and policy issues as well as advocate for market access in partnership with FVGC. It follows the creation of the Greenhouse Produce Alliance of Canada earlier this year, which replaced the former greenhouse vegetable working group. The berry and field vegetable sectors will continue to maintain working groups with FVGC, while the long-estblished Canadian Potato Council serves the interests of potato growers under the FVGC umbrella.

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