Risks to agriculture

The best way to protect agricultural land is to ensure that it is being actively farmed.

The most recent Metro Vancouver Agricultural Land Use Inventory (ALUI)  shows that 50% (34,147 ha) of the region’s land within the Agricultural Land Reserve is used for farming. Another 25% has potential for farming but is unfarmed; the remaining 25% is unavailable for farming. Getting this unfarmed land with potential for farming into production is a major opportunity and highly important for continued local food security and the regional agri-food economy.

Many of the parcels in the Agricultural Land Reserve are small lots, which makes them vulnerable to residential and other non-farm uses and may lead to more farmland being put out of production. The Metro Vancouver Agricultural Land Use Inventory also shows that 75% of smaller lots in the Agricultural Land Reserve (2 hectares/5 acres) are not farmed. Increasing instances of subdivision of farmland, which creates smaller lots, further threatens agriculture viability.

Metro Vancouver’s role

Metro Vancouver supports a sustainable, resilient and healthy food system by advancing regional agriculture and food policy. Metro Vancouver works with member municipalities, provincial agencies and other organizations to:

• Protect the regional supply of agricultural land
• Increase the amount of actively farmed land 
• Strengthen the economic viability of food production in the region
• Promote the reduction of food waste
• Increase agriculture and local healthy food awareness
• Develop an action plan for local governments to support the Regional Food System Strategy

As the region grows, agricultural lands are increasingly at risk of being used for non-farming purposes.

A key goal in Metro Vancouver 2040: Shaping our Future (the regional growth strategy adopted by all member municipalities) is to protect the supply of agricultural land and promote a viable agricultural sector.