Sales increased by $700 million from 2014
By Diego Flammini, Farms.com
Farmers and other food producers made their way to the Parliament Buildings in Victoria, British Columbia with provincial Agriculture Minister Norm Letnick to celebrate B.C. Agrifoods Day and celebrate a sales milestone.
British Columbia’s agriculture and agrifood industry sold $12.3 billion worth of B.C. agrifood products in 2014 – an increase of $700 million from 2013 and a $1.8 billion increase since 2010.
“With $12.3 billion in sales, it is clear that the B.C. government’s Agrifoods Strategy is working,” said B.C. Agriculture Minister Norm Letnick. “The B.C. government is committed to providing B.C. farm families with the chance to earn a higher income while ensuring our province has a growing agrifoods economy and a reliable food source for years to come.”
Chair of the BC Agriculture Council Stan Vander Waal is hopeful that with the success of the province’s agriculture industry comes a better relationship between consumers and producers.
“I think as British Columbians become more informed of what agriculture is to them, they’ll be more connected with where their food comes from and we also hope they’ll become more comfortable and trust the food source of British Columbia because it is among some of the healthiest and best food worldwide,” Vander Waal said.
According to the 2011 Census of Agriculture:
- There are 19,759 farms in British Columbia
- Total farm area in the province is 6.5 million acres
- Average farm area is 327 acres
- Women made up more than one third of farm operators in the province
- No-till methods were used on 28.3% of land prepared for seeding – up from 19.1% in 2006