Federal-provincial support helping disaster-affected farmers

October 20, 2023 – Victoria, British Columbia – Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

After an intense summer of wildfires and drought, B.C.'s farmers and ranchers are receiving additional support to repair or replace damaged infrastructure and to help with the expenses they incurred to keep their animals fed, sheltered and safe during these emergencies.

The support is provided through the 2023 Canada-British Columbia Wildfire and Drought AgriRecovery Initiative and offers as much as $71 million to help producers throughout the province return to full operation and provide the food British Columbians rely on.

Farmers and ranchers will receive assistance with as much as 70% of certain extraordinary expenses incurred during the emergencies, such as:

• livestock feed due to decreased pasture availability
• transportation costs related to moving livestock to feed and water
• transportation and veterinarian costs supporting animal health and safety
• repairs or replacement of critical irrigation infrastructure damaged by wildfire not covered by insurance
• labour costs to repair fencing damaged by wildfire
• re-establishing forage crops damaged by the wildfires
• replacing apiaries, bee colonies and beekeeping equipment lost in the wildfires

AgriRecovery programs are created to support producers with extraordinary costs they incur due to an emergency, and to get them back into production. Each one is developed to meet the needs of farmers and ranchers affected by a specific situation.

AgriRecovery funding is available through the disaster relief assistance policy framework defined in the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP). Sustainable CAP is a 5-year (2023-28) $3.5-billion investment by federal, provincial and territorial governments to strengthen competitiveness, innovation and resilience of the agriculture, agrifood and agri-based products sector. Sustainable CAP includes $1 billion in federal programs and activities and a $2.5-billion commitment cost-shared 60% federally and 40% provincially/territorially for programs that are designed and delivered by provinces and territories.

For more information about the 2023 Canada-British Columbia Wildfire and Drought AgriRecovery Initiative, producers can call: 1 888 332 3352 or email AgriRecovery@gov.bc.ca.

Program and application details will be available on Monday, Oct. 23, 2023, at noon (Pacific time).