Many residents across British Columbia are still experiencing the impacts of record droughts, and wildfires, but the province says farmers and ranchers faced with changing climate will receive support so they can continue to produce food.
According to federal minister of Agriculture and Argi-Food Lawrence MacAulay, the government is making considerable investments through the Regional Extension Program which is designed to help producers across BC with the tools needed to work in a world of changing climate.
According to the province, the program will focus on research, knowledge transfer, and new technologies with a goal to ensure healthy soils and ecosystems in farming communities. They are also hoping the investments will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prepare for while reducing the impacts of wildfires, drought, flooding, and extreme temperatures.
Minister of Agriculture and Food Pam Alexis says everyone is struggling in the eyes of climate change and hopes by providing support now the impacts of severe weather can be mitigated.
“We’re proactively helping producers so they can better prepare for, adapt to, and mitigate the impacts of climate change,” she says. “This will help them build more resilient and sustainable practices so they can better protect their farms and livestock.”
Funding will help activities such as data sharing, on-farm demonstrations, workshops, and webinars to highlight the latest research and at least 16 projects currently underway.
The $1.5 million in program funding is from the province’s CleanBC initiative and the Sustainable Canadian Agriculture Partnership (CAP), which is a five-year $3.5 billion investment by the federal, provincial, and territorial governments to strengthen the industry.
The CAP includes $1 billion in federal programs and activities with a $2.5 billion commitment cost-shared, 60 per cent federally and 40 per cent across the provinces/territories for programs in their region.
