B.C. farmers whose farms were damaged by floods in November 2021 can now apply to the Canada-BC Flood Recovery for Food Security Program until Aug. 31, 2022.

The program helps farmers return to production by reimbursing them for uninsured expenses they incurred on activities such as:

• cleanup, repair and restoration of land, barns and animal shelters, and water and waste systems;
• returning flood-affected land and buildings to a safe state for agricultural production;
• repairing uninsurable essential farm infrastructure;
• repairing structures such as livestock-containment fences;
• renting temporary production facilities;
• installing drainage ditches and land-stabilization materials;
• animal welfare activities such as replacing feed, transporting livestock, veterinary care and mortality disposal; and
• replacing perennial plants not grown for sale.

The enrolment deadline for farmers to begin their claim process is being extended from June 1 to Aug. 31. Processing of claims will continue after the deadline and farmers can continue submitting documents outlining their expenses after that date.

Funding for the Canada-BC Flood Recovery for Food Security Program is provided by the governments of Canada and British Columbia.  

Learn More:

Program criteria and application forms are available online: gov.bc.ca/agrifloodrecovery 

Program announcement from February 2022: https://news.gov.bc.ca/26217

One-on-one assistance in English and Punjabi for completing applications: agrirecovery@gov.bc.ca or toll-free: 1 888 332-3352.

Income-protection programs for B.C. farmers: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/industry/agriculture-seafood/programs#Insurance

B.C.’s emergency management planning for agriculture: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/industry/agriculture-seafood/business-market-development/emergency-management