While B.C. grown produce may cost more for now, farmers are urging shoppers to buy local

Farming advocate Gagan Singh says many in the B.C. agriculture industry are struggling to survive due to a number of factors, with the biggest being the high cost of farming.

The recent U.S. tariffs have brought a greater focus to buying local products, but B.C. farmers say that can come with some challenges.

Abbotsford blueberry farmer and farming advocate Gagan Singh says many in the B.C. agriculture industry are struggling to survive these days due to a number of factors, with the biggest being the high cost of farming.

Singh hosted a series of town halls recently to discuss solutions and urged consumers to pay more attention to where their food comes from.

“You’ll start becoming aware that Canadian produce is going to have to be expensive for the time being because it’s so expensive to grow Canadian produce and there’s not a ton of local demand, which unfortunately is keeping the prices higher,” Singh said.

He added that they identified seven reasons why farmers in B.C. are failing.

They include competition with cheaper imports; unpredictable weather and climate change; limited marketing and sales reach; difficult accessing capital and funding; rising costs; restrictive government policies and regulations; and operational challenges and inefficiencies.

“Everything is so expensive here,” Singh said.

“Farmers here are excellent farmers but they are not excellent at marketing,” adding that less than five per cent of what people pay for produce at the grocery store goes back to the farmers.