DUNCAN, B.C. – Farmers on Vancouver Island are struggling to keep back the expanding trees.
Timber companies like Fletcher Challenge and MacMillan Bloedel are buying and leasing farmland to plant poplar trees.
Since farmers stand to make more money growing trees for pulp than raising animals or growing crops for food, many have been enticed to take their land out of food production for at least the seven years it takes to grow the trees.
“This is terrible not only for people but also for wildlife which is being pushed into other areas. Only three percent of the land in B.C. now is agricultural. We need to maintain that agricultural base,” said Norman Quist of Westholme.
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Almost 50 people attended a March 9 meeting, organized to determine concerns of area farmers.
Organization needed
Participants agreed farmers in the Cowichan Valley, along the southeast coast of the island, needed a united voice in pressing their concerns to the public and to governments. There is no organization which represents their interests, so they decided to look at creating a new body.
They also expressed interest in hiring a professional advocate who would help promote public awareness of the economic and social importance of agriculture, lobby government and encourage people to buy locally.
Other matters raised at the meeting included some farmers who said they found it difficult to get their produce into local stores.
