Throughout the Province’s Columbia River Treaty consultations, beginning in 2012 and continuing to the present, Basin residents have spoken of agricultural losses sustained when valley bottoms were first inundated.  Basin residents have indicated that support is needed for accessing land, financial aid for sustainable farming, irrigation, and dikes.  To help address these concerns, the B.C. Treaty Team investigated existing federal, provincial and regional agriculture programs and initiatives with the potential to help address some of the identified interests.  They found over 30 programs. 

A table has been developed to present the information gathered during the investigation, with agricultural needs and issues displayed in one column and matched to existing federal, provincial and regional agricultural programs and initiatives in the second column.

The three sources of information used to identify agricultural needs and issues are:  1) community interests feedback collected during B.C.’s CRT 2018 community meetings; 2) Koocanusa Agriculture Sector recommendations presented to the Columbia Basin Regional Advisory Committee in Spring 2019; and 3) Columbia Basin Rural Development Institute’s’ April 2016 report: Common Themes in the Three Agriculture Plans of the Columbia Basin-Boundary Region.

As a next step, the B.C. Treaty Team will be asking for feedback on the effectiveness of these programs and initiatives, and to help identify where there may be gaps.  Depending on the information collected, future face to face (virtual) and online engagement may follow.  Input will be used to develop a plan to help address agricultural issues linked to the Columbia River Treaty.

The table, ‘Overview of Agricultural Interests in the Columbia Basin and Existing Agricultural Programs and Initiatives’, and information on how to submit feedback will be posted to the Province’s Columbia River Treaty website in the coming weeks.  Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to learn when those details are available.