The agricultural land reserve cannot be the solution to BC’s housing crisis, and should continue to prioritize farm use to ensure provincial food security.
That was the message provincial land use agrologist Alison Fox and regional agrologist Lindsay Benbow had for the Columbia Shuswap Regional District’s board of directors. The two agrologists presented at the regional district’s regular meeting last month.
Introduced in 1973, the Agricultural Land Reserve, or the ALR as its more commonly known, is land that is designated by the province for agricultural use.
Farming is a significant contributor to BC’s economy. Fox said in 2023, around 40,000 people were employed in primary agriculture. In 2022 $14 billion in sales came from primary agriculture. Agriculture Canada defines primary agriculture as “work that is performed within the boundaries of a farm, nursery or greenhouse.”
On top of the housing crisis, a critical shortage of industrial land and the aging demographic of farmers are impacting both farming and ALR land use.
