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B.C.'s Food Self-Reliance
From a 2006 report entitled "B.C.'s Food Self-Reliance" issued by the B.C. Ministry of Agriculture and Lands.
The full report can be viewed here.
It is estimated that B.C. farmers produce 48% of all foods consumed in B.C. and produce 56% of foods consumed that can be economically grown in B.C. The following table shows the level of self-reliance for the different food groups.
| Food Group | B.C. Consumption Million Kg's | B.C Production Million Kg's | % Self-Reliant |
| Dairy | 1080 | 617 | 57% |
| Meat & Alternatives1 | 467 | 298 | 64% |
| Vegetables - Grown in B.C. | 764 | 331 | 43% |
| Fruit - Grown in B.C. | 172 | 273 | 159% |
| Grain for Food | 315 | 43 | 14% |
| Total - Grown in B.C. | 2798 | 1562 | 56% |
| Fruit - Not Grown in B.C. | 310 | ||
| Vegetables- Not Grown in B.C. | 1 | ||
| Sugar | 136 | ||
| Total - B.C. | 3245 | 1562 | 48% |
When comparing current production to recommended consumption by Canada’s Food Guide to Healthy Eating, B.C.’s food self-reliance drops to 34%.
This is primarily because a healthy diet recommends a higher level of consumption of fruits and vegetables over actual 2001 consumption levels and fruits and vegetables is a food group in which B.C. is not self-reliant.
Given the production technology available today, over half a hectare of farmland (0.524 ha) is needed to produce the food for one person for one year. This is roughly equivalent to 6 city lots.
In order to produce a healthy diet for British Columbians, farmers need 2.15 million hectares of food producing land of which 10% (215,000 hectares) needs to be irrigated. In 2005 the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands estimated that approximately 189,000 hectares of farmland had access to irrigation.
To produce a healthy diet for the projected B.C. population in 2025, farmers will need to have 2.78 million hectares in production of which 281,000 will need access to irrigation. This means that to produce a healthy diet for British Columbians in 2025, given existing production technology, the farmland with access to irrigation will need to increase by 92,000 hectares or 49% over 2005 levels.
To maintain the current level of self-reliance through to the year 2025, farmers will need to increase production by 30% over 2001 levels. The increased production will be concentrated on the land that has access to irrigation – land that is typically near the urban centers.
Delta has done an excellent job of preserving farmland thanks to local farmers.