A swath of Metro Vancouver's farming belt is sitting idle because the owners of the land either don't want to farm it or don't know how, says an Ipsos Reid survey.
But Metro Vancouver is hoping to boost production on that land, much of which is considered prime farmland, saying it is crucial to help feed the region's population by 2025.
"The land that is not being farmed is all prime farmland - it's just not in production," said Coun. Harold Steves, who sits on Metro Vancouver's regional planning and agriculture committee. "We're trying to get the message out that we would like to see people who own these properties to farm them or lease them out to people who will farm."
The survey, commissioned by Metro Vancouver last year, found 28 per cent of the surveyed land - amounting to about 10,000 parcels - in Richmond, Delta, Langley, Surrey and Barnston Island, was identified as not being in agriculture production but having the potential for farming.
The survey also found there does not appear to be any real sense of urgency among land owners to expand farm operations, and the current situation will not change "without some significant intervention."
It suggests key barriers to farming more land appear to be an overall lack of interest, a perceived unsuitability of the land, and financial challenges to start up and make a profit. At the same time, those who are actively trying to expand their farm operations are finding themselves blocked by government red tape and a perceived lack of understanding or support for farm operations generally.
It recommends increasing financial assistance or tax incentives; improving collaboration between farmers, local governments and the province; outreach to landowners regarding agricultural and leasing opportunities; and more education for government staff and the public to better understand farm operations.
Surrey Coun. Linda Hepner maintains Metro must create a climate that embraces the business of farming. She acknowledged it costs a lot of money to upgrade a piece of land into productive farmland. But she adds not all land must have great soil to grow crops because there are varying uses for agriculture, such as grazing, hayfields and greenhouses.
"If you talk to farmers, they're going to tell you every piece of land can be used for something," she said. "We have to better identify what are the innovative things people are doing on agricultural land.
"You see people growing things in parking lots, so the fact that lands can't be utilized has to have a better answer than the soil isn't the best."
Steves maintains some farm owners tend to let their land get overgrown so it would be unsuitable for agriculture, and they can then sell it for industrial or other uses.
Richmond has taken measures to ensure farmland isn't sold off for other uses by stating that farmers cannot cut trees on their property unless they plan to farm the land.
A 50-acre field in east Richmond, Steves notes, had once been deemed unsuitable for farming by its owners, but is now a prime cranberry field.
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