The British Columbia government is providing $20 million for the Food Security Emergency Planning and Preparedness Fund that will support the agriculture community to prepare and respond to emergencies, a Sept. 18 news release said.
“We continue to see the impacts of a changing climate on our agriculture community, and we are proactively helping farmers adapt and prepare for events like drought, wildfire, flood and extreme weather that are becoming far too frequent in B.C.,” Pam Alexis, B.C. minister of agriculture and food, said in the release.
The release noted the fund will support the purchase, upgrading and installation of equipment and infrastructure for those who have a direct role in preparing and responding to agricultural emergencies, including farmers, local governments, First Nations, industry associations and other service providers. Examples of eligible services to receive funding for include upgrading or new water storage infrastructure, such as dams or water dugouts to help alleviate drought; increasing capacity for feed-mill storage; and ensuring the safe disposal of animals in the event of an animal disease outbreak or animal health emergency.
The fund will also help with emergency response training, emergency planning, and developing the tools and procedures necessary to respond to and manage agricultural emergencies, the release said.
“This historic investment in the Food Security Emergency Planning and Preparedness Fund will allow agricultural producers to do more of what they are already doing to protect the resiliency of our province’s food systems, even in the face of wildfires, droughts and more,” Jennifer Woike, president of the B.C. Agriculture Council, said in the release.
The program is part of the $200-million food security announcement made in March 2023, the release said.
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