The provincial agriculture minister was in Prince George this week, holding meetings with food producers and the businesses that either deal with them.
His goal is to directly stimulate the output of B.C. farms and ranches so the overall economy is stimulated along with it. When something is created from scratch, as food products are, an entire sector of economic activity feels the money move, and that is a one of the ways a province improves its quality of life, said Norm Letnick.
In addition to being the agriculture minister, Letnick is also a member of the Treasury Board and Legislative Review Committee, as well as vice-chair of the Cabinet Committee on Strong Economy. Prior to his election to the Legislature, he taught business at Okanagan University College based on his master of business administration and PhD candidacy in health economics.
"My goal is to get the B.C. agriculture industry to the level of $14 billion per year by 2017," he said. "We are between $11.5 and $12 billion right now. So things like the deal we signed last month in China for exporting cherries is extremely important. We are working towards a similar agreement for blueberries. Those things definitely add up."
The province officially produces about 300 agricultural commodities at the commercial level. Roughly 200 are produced on land and 100 in the water. Letnick said the government has two goals for that overall economic expansion: have ne commodities produced in B.C., and get the existing commodities generating more output.
"There are different ways of doing that, but the frontrunner is to get B.C. people eating more B.C. products at home," he said.
"We can work on expanding our export markets to other provinces and other countries, but the most sustainable way to affect that change - and it has a positive effect on the overall economy a number of ways - is to increase the consumption of local foods right in the communities they come from so we don't have to rely so much on importing food from outside markets."
The growth of the farmers market movement in this area, including the opening of Home Sweet Home Grocery, and local restaurants going out of their way to put local ingredients into their menu are key elements to foster this kind of "eat local" initiative. It gives the producers a dependable place to sell their wares, which encourages more farmers and more products.
"I'm asking for input on what we can do to see an increase in agriculture sales and profitability for them specifically but also as a province as a whole," he said.
"We're talking about marketing programs, red tape issues they have to go through that isn't necessary, opportunities for buy-local programs, invasive species, I'm hearing ideas about abattoirs, the hay industry, it is all over the map."
