Saanich, B.C., councillor wants to buy land for young farmers

The District of Saanich, B.C.,is behind an initiative to keep more farmland in production by letting young farmers use it.

Councillor Dean Murdock is advocating for the creation of a Capital Regional District "farmland trust:" a fund set aside to acquire farmland that has become unproductive.

"We don't want to see that happen, so we're suggesting maybe we can pool resources to purchase those lands and put them in the hands of young farmers who maybe can't afford to get on the land themselves because especially here in the capital region, that farmland is quite expensive," Murdock told All Points West host Robyn Burns.

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Murdock says while the Agricultural Land Reserve usually keeps land from being sold off, it doesn't mandate the land stay in production.

He says as local farmers get older, their lands are sometimes going unworked. At the same time, he says, young farmers can't afford to buy that land and use it for food production themselves.

He says the Capital Region Food and Agriculture Initiatives Roundtablehas estimated that around two-thirds of the farmland in the Capital Regional District isn't being farmed.

Murdock says before a trust acquires new lands, he'd like to see more,existing city-owned lands tried out as farmland, like Panama Flats.

He says a CRD agricultural committee is reviewing the trust proposal and details for implementation.

With files from CBC Radio One's All Points West

To hear the full story, click the audio labelled:Saanich councillor wants to buy land for young farmers