Victoria/Fraser Valley – B.C. seed producers may soon be able to access new seed processing equipment in up to a dozen BC Food Hub Network facilities.
* Three food hubs are now operating in Vancouver, Surrey and Port Alberni.
* Hubs are under development in Quesnel, Salmon Arm, Creston, Rock Creek, Kamloops, Abbotsford-Mission, the Cowichan Valley, Bowser (near Parksville) and Victoria.
FarmFolk CityFolk’s mobile seed cleaner: http://www.bcseeds.org/category/mobile-seed-cleaner/
BC Food Hub Network: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/industry/agriculture-seafood/growbc-feedbc-buybc/bc-food-hub-network
This equipment will increase production of high-quality vegetable, grain and plant seed and support B.C.’s food system.
FarmFolk CityFolk will lead the ministry-funded BC Seed Hub feasibility study to determine the potential of adding in-hub infrastructure or mobile cleaning units at food hubs in different regions of the province.
“Many seed producers are smaller, family-run farms that cannot afford their own seed cleaning and packaging equipment, but by expanding the role of our food hubs to include those services, we can help solve that problem,” said Lana Popham, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries. “We’re going to look at how we can increase seed production in different regions and work with B.C. farmers to support and expand seed-sector infrastructure, services and training in B.C.”
FarmFolk CityFolk will consult with different food hub operators to determine which facilities are most interested and appropriately located and sized to include seed processing equipment. Adding seed-specific equipment to the hubs would allow many farmers in multiple regions of the province to clean, treat, weigh, package and label their products at their convenience, year-round.
