Regional Food and Agriculture Strategy
The Regional Food & Agriculture Strategy (RFAS) details regional food and agriculture objectives, issues and opportunities to guide action and foster leadership in developing a resilient food and agriculture system. The RFAS identifies the CRD's role in food and agriculture along with recommendations, associated actions and resourcing requirements. The Food and Agriculture Task Force delivers on the first recommendation of the RFAS with regional, cross-sector relationships working together on identified priorities.
Food and agriculture in the CRD are part of a larger interconnected system that includes planting, irrigation, harvesting, processing, distributing, preparing, marketing and consumption. Managing food waste, soil nutrients, wildlife and invasive species are also integral to the food and agriculture system.
The Food and Agriculture Strategy developed from findings revealed by the 2003 Regional Growth Strategy (RGS) update consultation process. During the public engagement phase of the RGS update, stakeholder groups and members of the public expressed the greatest interest in food and agriculture systems out of all nine sustainability topics. Initially treated as two separate topics, food and agriculture were brought together as inseparable elements for RGS planning processes.
Thanks to the ongoing work being done by the CRD and community partners, the updated 2018 Regional Growth Strategy targets increasing land in food production by 5,000 hectares by 2038. The RFAS and the RGS work in tandem to guide planning and decision making in the region.
Foodlands Access Program Study
In 2019, the Regional Foodlands Access Program Feasibility Study identified recommendations to help address farmland access and increase local food production across the region.
At their April 10, 2019 meeting, the CRD Board directed staff to canvas municipalities about interest in supporting a foodlands trust and assess potential lands that could be made available. Nine municipalities indicated initial interest, and three parcels were identified for possible inclusion.
CRD partnered with Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s (KPU) Institute for Sustainable Food Systems to develop technical sites assessments and a preliminary business case. The business case provides information about parcel suitability and identifies initial capital and operating costs to advance a foodlands access incubator program for new farmers on the three parcels.
Given the new information provided in the business case and the significant level of effort to pursue the next phases of the project, on
April 13, 2022, the CRD Board directed staff to identify detailed operational requirements, determine a funding strategy and confirm land use and local government participants for establishing the new service.