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Eby urges feds to step up as BC announces critical support for farmers and growers

It’s been an exceptionally difficult stretch for British Columbia’s agriculture industry, dating back four of five years, and 2024 has potentially been the toughest test yet.

The year began with a cold snap that crippled crops across the Okanagan, while the recent closure of the BC Tree Fruits Cooperative (BCTFC) has left farmers and growers scrambling to find a way to get their crops to market.

“There’s a common saying that a farmer is just two bad seasons away from going out of business,” BC Cherry Growers Association president Sukhpaul Bal said Tuesday. “Well, we just experienced our fifth; that should tell us something.”

Bal spoke at a press conference in Penticton where Premier David Eby and Minister of Agriculture Pam Alexis announced new supports for the industry in response to the BCTFC closure and climate-related challenges.

<who>Photo Credit: BC Government YouTube screenshot</who>Premier David Eby speaks in Penticton on Tuesday with Minister of Agriculture Pam Alexis in the background.

Those supports include changes to the AgriStability program, which offers personalized coverage to help BC’s agricultural producers manage large declines due to market conditions, production loss or increased costs.

The Province has increased compensation from that program from 80% to 90%, as well as doubled the cap for the rest of 2024.

Eby and Alexis estimate those changes will result in $15 million worth of direct payments to farmers in the Okanagan to support them with immediate costs and compensation claims for losses.

Also announced today was a new Tree Fruit Climate Resiliency program that will provide $5 million to help tree-fruit farmers buy equipment and pursue projects in the face of climate change.

According to Alexis, the program will support projects like wind machines, orchard heaters, crop cover systems and more to help protect crops from extreme weather.

While the Tree Fruit Climate Resiliency program is a long-term solution to issues, Alexis said that there is an emergency table in place with leaders from the tree-fruit sector to work on urgent solutions for those impacted by the BCTFC closure.

She said it’s helping growers who previously relied on the BCTFC get their fruit to market right now, and more than 60,000 bins of fruit previously packed by the co-op will be shipped to other packing houses.

“We have been able to help the majority of co-op members find packing services and we continue to look at other options to help more,” Alexis explained.

The final piece of provincial support revealed by Eby and Alexis today was a temporary exemption to the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) rule.

Normally, the requirement is that at least 50% of products processed on ALR must be sourced from the farm itself or a formal co-operative.

The exemption will allow private packing houses to take on an increased volume of fruit from farms across the region to fill the void in the wake of the BCTFC closure.

<who>Photo Credit: BC Tree Fruits/File Photo

Although provincial supports were announced today, Eby urged the federal government to step up and implement programs that are responsive to the unique needs of growers and farmers.

The premier said he has already asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for a two-year stay on advance-payment loans that farmers may have received.

“Farmers cannot afford to make those payments right now,” he explained, citing subsidy frameworks in US states like Washington that put American growers at an advantage in what is meant to be a level playing field.

Eby sentiments about the lack of federal support is something that was addressed by BC Fruit Growers Association president Peter Simonsen as well.

“While we appreciate the provincial government’s efforts, it’s also time to acknowledge that the federal government needs to step up and provide the necessary support for our industry,” he said Tuesday.

Simonsen said the industry appreciates the Province’s support, and it’s encouraging that their voices are “finally being heard,” but said the support needs to come from all levels of government.

“Our orchards and fields are the heart of our livelihoods and they’ve been devastated by extreme weather conditions,” he noted. “The majority of our growers are small family farms that have felt the brunt of these hardships and many are hanging on by a thread.”

Today’s announcement in Penticton came after the BCTFC filed for creditor protection in BC Supreme Court on Monday, with a hearing set to take place in Vancouver today.

Eby said the government will be monitoring that process closely, keeping a close eye on assets of the BCTFC and trying to ensure key assets aren’t lost.



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