The Minister of Agriculture expects to introduce legislation and regulation during the fall sitting to better protect farmland.
Lana Popham has been handed the independent Minister’s Advisory Committee’s interim report aimed to revitalize the Agricultural Land Reserve and the Agricultural Land Commission.
The committee identified 13 recommendations for legislative and regulatory change, and four recommendations for action to protect the ALR.
She says the agricultural land in B.C. is under pressure from development, like the construction of monster homes on farmland or developers needing somewhere to dump soil….
Popham says there are two sides to the equation, protecting farmland while ensuring farming is viable.
To that end, she says she’s encouraging further processing opportunities to increase the demand for primary farm products.
