Canada: British Columbia puts vertical farms on horizon to boost B.C. food security
Popham said B.C. has 150 so-called agritech companies and “vertical farming is one of the areas that we believe will help us mitigate some of our food-security challenges as we see extreme weather events like we’ve seen over this past summer.”
By Derrick Penner
Vancouver Sun
Feb 19, 2022
Excerpt:
Vancouver has seen experiments with rooftop vertical farming on city buildings in the past, but Agriculture Minister Lana Popham is betting that being able to add them to agricultural zones will help bolster B.C.’s food security.
On Saturday, Popham said the province will change B.C.’s Agricultural Land Reserve regulations that will allow proponents of vertical-farm buildings to pursue plans without having to seek the permission of the Agricultural Land Commission first.
“Proponents will only need to work with their local government or First Nations government to ensure local requirements are met and that it is a fit for their community,” Popham said in an announcement Saturday from Victoria.
The change would put vertical-farm buildings in the same category as greenhouses or livestock operations as allowable farm uses on ALR land. Vertical farming uses hydroponic growing techniques in stacked units indoors, similar to greenhouses but under LED lights, and can produce crops year-round.
