B.C. councillor calls for more changes to agricultural land reserve to remove red tape

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.”

3:14 B.C. agriculture industry calls for regulaton changes to increase food production

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.

In a statement, Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke said she is surprised by Bose’s comments.

“He is the chair of the City’s Agriculture and Food Policy Committee and he has never raised this issue with council, nor has he raised it with his fellow committee members,” she said.

Locke said she reached out on Monday to two of the largest farm owners in Surrey and they told her it is untrue that the city has sidelined or stifled farming in the city.

“Whatever challenges they do face is a result of their interactions with the province,” she added.

“As Cllr Bose full well knows, it is the Ministry of Agriculture that sets farming regulations in the province and not the municipality.”