Vernon, British Columbia – Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) - British Columbia’s agriculture sector contributes $3.2 billion to Canada’s economy, with more than $2.6 billion in agri-food exports to 147 markets. The governments of Canada and British Columbia remain committed to the continued growth and success of British Columbia.’s agriculture sector by ensuring producers have the tools they need to manage significant risks that threaten the viability of their farms.
2018 was an extremely challenging year for many British Columbia producers who faced financial pressures as a result of significant production and market losses. The governments of Canada and British Columbia are working together to ensure producers make full use of support available through existing programs.
Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Marie-Claude Bibeau and British Columbia’s Minister of Agriculture Lana Popham announced they have triggered the late participation mechanism under the AgriStability program for the 2018 program year to help farmers access needed support to deal with income losses. This new feature, introduced under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, means hundreds of additional farmers and ranchers from British Columbia will be eligible to join and benefit from the program. This feature can be triggered by governments in situations where there is a significant income decline in the farm sector and a gap in program participation.
This is in addition to assistance previously announced by governments in October 2018 under the AgriRecovery disaster framework that provided up to $5 million to help the province’s agriculture sector recover from the agricultural losses caused by the 2018 wildfires. These fires consumed 1,300,000 hectares of land, surpassing the record damage caused in 2017.
Announcement is part of Minister Bibeau’s first agricultural tour. Minister Bibeau is meeting with farmers, processors and industry leaders, as well as participating in local agricultural events, to highlight strategic federal agricultural investments and programs and how they will help to build an even stronger and more innovative sector for Canada.
The tour begins on March 11 in Vernon, British Columbia and ends on March 13 in Winnipeg, Manitoba with stops in Kelowna, British Columbia and Calgary, Alberta.
Source : Government of Canada