Province sets up program to purchase farmland
By Nelson Daily Editor
The federal government has stepped in to protect B.C. farmland with a $68,000 grant to the FarmFolk/CityFolk Society.
The money is part of the government’s Co-operative Development Initiative, which helps citizens develop new co-operatives.
The grant to FarmFolk/CityFolk will go toward a co-operative program that will purchase local farmland to make it available to farmers who contribute to the local food system. The group will purchase the farmland and hold it in trust for community farming initiatives.
“Our support of this project reflects our commitment to building stronger communities,” Minister of State for Agriculture Jean-Pierre Blackburn said in a news release.
Co-operatives are a business model that enables people to combine resources and share risks.
Only five per cent of B.C. land is suitable for farming.
