Access to water is one of the main challenges threatening food security in the community, according to a group of Pitt Meadows farmers who gathered to talk about the future of the industry.
About 30 family farmers from across Pitt Meadows came together at farmer Steve Robinson’s family business, Pitt Meadows Plumbing, for the meeting on Saturday, Sept. 9, to discuss challenges to the industry ahead of a revised City of Pitt Meadows Agriculture Plan.
Without water, crop production is at risk, said the farmers, who believe they should be exempt from water restrictions – even during a drought – because they are producing food.
However, those with water licenses have been asked lately to turn off their taps due to drought conditions in the province. While other farmers are unable to secure a water license.
“Without water, crop production is at risk, posing potential threats to food security,” said Robinson, owner and operator of Meadowland Farms, who organized the meeting in response to two emails his farm received from the provincial Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship.
The first letter was dated late July, and it advised him to voluntarily reduce his water consumption by 50 per cent, as the holder of four open-sourced water irrigation points.
The second letter he received was on Aug. 27, announcing the province was in a level five drought and asking all open-sourced water users to immediately stop irrigating.
“Of course I didn’t,” said the farmer who has been on the land in Pitt Meadows for 45 years.
“I will never stop using the water I’ve been given the right to use,” he said defiantly. “Especially when I’ve got a crop that’s 90 per cent developed in the field. I stop watering and basically, well based on the weather, you know, it could very well just shrivel up before we get e a chance to harvest it in the middle of October,” he said about his cranberry fields.
In the interior, Robinson continued, farmers there received a third letter in September advising them that enforcement officers would be on the ground, issuing fines, and forcing water to go off.
At the meeting the farmers agreed that it is crucial for both the provincial and municipal governments to recognize that the water needs in Pitt Meadows differ significantly from other areas of British Columbia, and, they said, regulations should reflect these unique circumstances.
The main goal of the meeting was to discuss challenges and hopefully have an impact on the City of Pitt Meadows revised Agriculture Plan, a document the city is working on now that will shape the future of farming in the region.
Pitt Meadows farmers are eager to provide input that they believe will benefit not only farming families in the area, but also ensures the long-term sustainability of the industry.
Climate change preparedness was another issue the farmers were passionate about. The farmers discussed the need to proactively address the challenges that come with a changing climate – whether that be droughts, floods, or other weather-related events.
“While irrigation water is one thing, I’m just as concerned about the lack of adequate emergency planning processes,” said Robinson when it comes to both the City of Pitt Meadows or the province.
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He described the current emergency plan “a very aspirational mom and apple pie” plan that the farming community had zero input into.
Robinson has no faith that the City of Pitt Meadows works yard will remain above water if there is a flooding disaster.
“I want to know where the sandbags are stored. I want to know where the sand is stored. I want to know where the sand bagging machine is,” he said.
“If we have a significant rupture in our dike somewhere, even if it’s just a small one we need to get plugged, how do we do it,” he asked, exasperated.
He noted that of all the farming families in the area, around 25 of them who have every piece of equipment needed to to the job. However, he said, they have never been asked if they could contribute if there was an emergency situation.
Pitt Meadows Councilor Mike Manion was also at the meeting as a liaison for the Agricultural Advisory Committee, and said that staff have already been in touch with Robinson to make sure they include all the feedback from the farming community in the new Agriculture Plan.
“The current council is very concerned that the new Ag(riculture) plan being developed captures as much input of the ag(riculture) community as possible,” added the councilor.
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Farmers at the meeting noted how essential their voices are at the table to prevent poorly informed legislation and are asking for support from the community.
Robinson said he hopes that this meeting and any other future meetings with the farming families in Pitt Meadows will not only influence the city’s Agriculture Plan in the long term, but drive a more democratic structure for the farmers, where they feel heard by politicians, at the municipal and at the provincial level, about the issues directly affecting them.