Local agriculture being buried by global market, says research team urging regional self-reliant food systems

Photo: Kwantlen Polytechnic University

A team of researchers brought their vision for a sustainable, self-reliant food-producing Okanagan bioregion to the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen board Thursday, piquing the interest of some on the board who have concerns about local agriculture being lost to big corporations.

The Kwantlen Polytechnic University project aims to present local governments with information about the economic, environmental and social benefits and trade-offs of regional food systems.

"Well over 60 per cent of food retail trade in Canada is controlled by four corporations, and as an example, during the pandemic, they profited because of this,” Dr. Kent Mullinix, the project's director, said.

“It really does beg the question of whether we advance a food system that is dependent on this sector or a food system that develops via an economic parallel to that food system, or in concert with that food system.”

Mullinix and his team presented the board with the findings of their extensive research, including modelling of future environmental, economic and social impacts of a food region system, based on land use and availability, anticipated population growth and more.

Rick Knodel, rural Oliver director on the RDOS board, is a longtime champion of agricultural causes. He asked whether the project's modelling takes into account climate change, and how that may impact crop suitability.

Mullinix explained that in one of the team's previous studies which included potential predicted climate differences, in the balance of the nearly 130 food crops studied, yield variability did not affect food self-reliance. Some crops would thrive in changing conditions, to make up for others that did less well.

"But the fact of the matter is, it's a wild card, and nobody really knows how this is going to affect crop production, and what crops will be suitable and what crops will no longer be suitable. But it's very difficult to model," Mullinix explained.

Director George Bush of Area B (Cawston) had concerns about how already limited agricultural land in the region is being used.

"Since 2016 I know that our apple acreage has dropped by 1,000 acres, and I'm sure the wine and grape and pot industry has probably increased by 3,000 acres. And really that's a sad indication of where agriculture is going, and you know it's not even food," Bush said.

Mullinix, a tree fruit specialist, agreed wholeheartedly.

"The Okanagan is one of the absolutely best places on earth to grow a deciduous tree fruit, and in particular apples and the Okanagan apple industry has long been a global leader in apple production innovation. It is a travesty, in my estimation, that it is suffering and declining," he said.

He said regional agriculture needs to differentiate itself from the global sector, a perfect example of a primary motivation for regionalizing the food system.

"Just south of the border, they produce 140 million pack boxes of apples. And that industry is burying B.C's three million packed boxes of apples industry," Mullinix said.

"Through the regionalization of food systems, we can differentiate regional crops and producers and businesses, so that that citizenry can can patronize and support them."

Full information about the Okanagan Bioregion Food System Project can be found here.