B.C. farmers remain pragmatic after feds announce $252M aid package

There was mixed reaction in British Columbia to the $252-million emergency aid package announced for the country's agriculture industry Tuesday.

The federal government announced a new $77-million fund for food processors of various sizes, including meat packers, to help these businesses retrofit their factories; an extra $125 million to the AgriRecovery fund, a federal-provincial-territorial program aimed at helping farmers during disasters; and $50 million for a purchase program for surplus food to redistribute to food banks.

Lenore Newman, a Canada Research Chair in food security and environment at the University of the Fraser Valley, called the package "a Band-Aid which we need, but it's not enough."

The aid is less than 10 per cent of the $2.6 billion requested by the Canadian Federation of Agriculture.

"I felt very good to see support to buy up surplus ...  [but] the money for adapting the processing centres is laughable. It's so small," Newman said. 

Newman says industries like meat processing, which have been adapted to be as efficient as possible with the lowest possible costs, aren't going to easily change overnight.

"These facilities are designed to keep biohazards out. The very technology that has to do that makes them very vulnerable to a droplet-borne virus," she said. 

"It's not even exactly clear how we would achieve a necessary level of safety for those workers and, to be honest, we're going to need a lot of money to research what those supply chains look like going forward."

Peter Guichon, a fourth-generation farmer in Delta, B.C., says while there's definitely parts of the agriculture sector that are going to need help, he's still holding out hope the market will come through for him.

"I'd sooner get paid in the marketplace than [by the] government," Guichon said. 

Guichon's main crops are vegetables. He currently has 800 tons of Kennebec potatoes sitting in storage after demand from his traditional clients, including chain restaurants like White Spot, plummeted. 

"We diverted a bunch of these potatoes to retail," he said. "We're still thinking we can sell them all with people's help."

Jack Bates also produces potatoes, along with dairy and blueberries, on his farm in the Fraser Valley. While his potato sales have come to a "dead stop", dairy demand has been more up and down. 

"We've never been in this situation before. You gotta just roll with the punches," Bates said. 

His main worry leading into the growing season is labour — especially to pick his blueberries.

"The federal government has given away a lot of money to stay at home," he said. "That's already turning into a bit of problem because people don't want to work because they can get money from the [government]."

He says the berry industry needs 10,000 workers every summer in the Fraser Valley.

Pinder Dhaliwal, president of the B.C. Fruit Growers' Association, echoed those concerns, and called the federal aid package "profoundly underwhelming."

Dhaliwal said the association appreciated actions by the Canadian and B.C. governments that have allowed a late start to the arrival of temporary foreign workers, but increased costs and securing adequate amounts of labour remain a challenge. 

Newman says the task of keeping labourers safe, producing quality food on time — and cheaply — will be a tricky balance.

"The pandemic makes it pretty clear that [agriculture] is the most important chain, and when it goes away, you have a problem."

If you have a COVID-19-related story we should pursue that affects British Columbians, please email us at [email protected]