Media Clipping — Thursday July.31st, 2008, The Chronicle Herald

Paving over fertile land not road to plenty, group warns

By Davene Jeffrey

Nova Scotia may have enough prime farmland to feed its population, but it’d be a squeeze, says agro-ecologist Jennifer Scott.

Ms. Scott is in charge of agriculture accounts for GPI Atlantic, a non-profit research group. On Wednesday, the organization released a report, written by Ms. Scott, on the province’s ability to feed itself.

The report recommends supporting farmers by keeping the province’s most fertile soil out of the hands of developers.

"It’s very tempting (for struggling farmers) to sell lots off their farms," she said.

Her solution — buying development rights or working land conservation easements from farmers — would require the co-operation of all levels of government, she said.

And bureaucrats and the public could buy into the idea.

"There’s a lot of forward-looking people now in the government," she said. "We just need to get all the players together."

In Canada, farmland is separated into seven classes. According to agriculture experts, only 0.5 per cent of land in Canada falls into Class 1, with high-quality soil and an ideal climate. There is no Class 1 land in Nova Scotia, according to Statistics Canada.

Land in classes 3 and 4 is suitable for growing hay or using as pasture, and prime land is in Class 2, Ms. Scott said.

Class 2 flat is stone-free and more suitable for growing crops or for planting orchards. It’s also the kind of land developers would like to build homes on — or golf courses.

"We have enough Class 3 and 4 land. We have more than we need."

But Class 2 land is another story, she said.

While the amount of Class 2 land in the province is known, it’s almost impossible to find out how much of it is still used as farmland and how much has been used for subdivisions, she said.

The amount of prime land could feed Nova Scotians, but Ms. Scott speculated that we could probably only produce about 80 per cent of what we need.

And producing food locally becomes more and more important as the price of oil rises, which increases the price of imported food, she said.

Estimates that produce often travels 2,400 kilometres to reach supermarket shelves are likely low. A more realistic number would be 6,000 kilometres, Ms. Scott said.

"And it’s going to get more and more expensive."

Ms. Scott lives on a self-sufficient farm in Burlington Centre. The operation is an ecological farming project linked to the Ecology Action Centre.

She’s already sold her development rights. She found a trust in the United States that came up with the money, and the rights are held by the Ecology Action Centre.

Buying up easements across the province would also reduce the cost of agricultural land, she said.

"It takes that land out of the speculation real estate market."

It would put a little cash into the hands of farmers now and keep the price of farmland affordable for new farmers in the future, she said.

In Kings County, in Nova Scotia’s fertile Annapolis Valley, the municipal council has been struggling with farmers, developers and concerned citizens for years over the issue of rezoning agricultural land.

In the meantime, Ms. Scott encourages Nova Scotians to buy local and help keep the province’s farmers in business.

"Every food dollar you spend makes a difference."

A link to the entire GPI land capacity report can be accessed at www.thechronicleherald.ca.

The organization will be releasing further agriculture reports next month, Ms. Scott said.

Copyright © 2008, The Chronicle Herald