Report calls on N.S. to protect prime farm land from development

Sharp increases in global fuel and food prices, much higher transportation costs, and warnings of major commodity price fluctuations have increased insecurity about our food supply and forced many jurisdictions to look at reducing dependence on imported food supplies. Does Nova Scotia have sufficient fertile, good quality farm land to feed itself? That’s one of the provocative questions examined in this report on the province’s land capacity, which is the third section of Part 2 (Resource Capacity and Land Use) of the GPI Soils and Agriculture Accounts.

Part 1 of the GPI Soils and Agriculture Accounts is the Economic Viability of Farming, and Part 3 (to be released in August, 2008) is on Human and Social Capital in Agriculture. The previous two sections of Part 2 (Resource Capacity and Land Use) are: Soil Quality and Productivity and The Value of Agricultural Biodiversity. Summaries of those reports can be accessed here.

This new study also examines long and short-term trends in the province’s farm land and estimates the total real estate and productive values of that farm land in dollar terms. It also assesses the quality of Nova Scotia’s farm land, including its susceptibility to water erosion and compaction. The new report is particularly timely in view of public debates in the Annapolis Valley about whether prime farm land should be conserved for growing food. Compensating farmers for loss of development rights is an issue that is addressed in the report.