Farmland development sparks online petition

A lobby group has taken its fight to save Nova Scotia farmland off the doorsteps in Kings County and into cyberspace.

No Farms No Food has launched an online petition asking people to support regulations that would prevent agricultural land in the Annapolis Valley from becoming housing subdivisions.

The petition was launched because Kings County council is reviewing a development application that would allow 153 hectares of prime farmland in Greenwich to be rezoned for residential, commercial and industrial uses.

Pauline Raven said her 200-member group is trying to show that it represents significant opinion in Nova Scotia.

"We often hear from them that we are just a very small fringe group," she said Friday.

"Well, we very recently have launched an online petition that will allow people to use the internet to state their opinion on whether they think farmland needs better protection."

Kings County has had special laws for 30 years to protect farmland, but exemptions have been made over the years to allow for building lots and golf courses.

As of early Sunday afternoon, the petition at www.nofarmsnofood.ca had 275 signatures.

"We are hoping not for hundred of signatures, but for thousands," Raven said.

The number of signatures will help her group figure out if they are fighting for something that people care about, she said — protecting some of the best farmland in Nova Scotia.