A major change in farming happened after the Second World War.
The trend to increase the size of farms and specialize in crop growing proved to be a drastic transformation. Agriculture became monoculture farming on an industrial scale. The consequences were appalling.
Such a situation puts family farms everywhere at a disadvantage. Here in Richmond, the picture was bleak.
When the older generation of farmers wanted to retire, the younger generation decided it had other priorities and interests. Remember Tai-On Farm on No.5 Road?
In 2012, Arzeena Hamir, former co-ordinator of Richmond Food Security (now called Urban Bounty), revealed that family farms had been disappearing at the rate of one or two a year since 2009.
However, I recall that back in 2012 it was possible to detect hints of a positive change waiting in the wings, though not all those early ventures thrived – remember Urban Edibles, the two-acre farm along Steveston Highway just east of Gilbert Road? It’s now an abandoned site.
There’s been a strong negative reaction to industrial monoculture farming, driven largely by a new vision of the role of agriculture that seeks to reverse what had gone on before.
In Italy, young people are returning to work the land. While other industries are collapsing, agriculture is seeing an increase, even if it’s a small percentage right now.
The real predecessor of the current generation of biodynamic farmers is Lord Northbourne (1896-1982), whose theories on organic agriculture are expounded in his 1940 book Look to the Land.
At times, his words sound like direct criticism of industrial monoculture farming. He writes on pages 90 to 91: “Farming cannot be treated as a mixture of chemistry and cost accountancy, nor can it be pulled into conformity with the exigencies of modern business, in which speed, cheapness, and standardizing count most. Nature will not be driven. If you try, she hits back slowly, but very hard.”
We in Richmond are singularly fortunate because we are able to witness first-hand how this new vision of agriculture is becoming a reality. Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) has a Department of Sustainable Agriculture that offers a Bachelor of Applied Science in Sustainable Agriculture, a four-year degree combining academic training with practical experience.
The KPU Farm, eight acres on the Garden City Lands, is described as “a living laboratory for students learning about regenerative organic agriculture.” It includes “beetle banks for beneficial insect habitat” and “an innovative approach to carbon-negative farming at the edge of an ancient peat bog.”
You can see the success of KPU’s approach to farming for yourself every Tuesday at the Kwantlen Farmers Market in the square in front of Richmond Public Library. The tables are piled high with KPU Farm’s produce; the young people running the stand are the KPU students.
In addition to being offered for sale at the Farmers Market, some of the produce is donated to the Richmond Food Bank – in 2022, it was 27 per cent of the harvested yield. Furthermore, the students are encouraged to take the farm’s free produce from a community fridge at KPU.
It’s undeniable that living close to the land and eating organic produce that is grown within a few hundred metres of where you prepare your meals is extraordinarily beneficial to your physical and mental well-being. I see proof of that each Tuesday when I go to the Kwantlen Farmers Market and each time I visit the KPU Farm and catch sight of the students, volunteers and researchers going about their business.
If we could measure our gratitude for what the KPU Farm does, I expect it would exceed the national debt of Canada, which is today projected as $2.3 trillion.
So here’s a humongous thank-you to everyone out there! We are indebted to you!
Sabine Eiche is a local writer and art historian with a PhD from Princeton University. Her passions are writing for children and protecting nature. Her columns deal with a broad range of topics and often include etymology in order to shed extra light on the subject.
📣 Got an opinion on this story or any others in Richmond? Send us a letter or email your thoughts or story tips to [email protected].
📲 To stay updated on Richmond news, sign up for our daily headline newsletter.
💬 Words missing in article? Your adblocker might be preventing hyperlinked text from appearing.
