Thank you, Mr. Chairperson.
Agriculture within the central Okanagan is at a bit of a critical crossroads right now. We've heard from a number of other speakers here. I would concur and attest to everything you've heard from them so far.
The landscape is highly fractured here, with over 95% of it being individual parcels under 10 acres. The average farmer, as we've heard referenced, was 57 years of age as of 2006. Industry surveys have identified that as many as two-thirds of the farmer population may be retiring in the next five years or so.
At the same time, the Okanagan is an attractive place for retirees. This creates a lot of competition for our land base, especially for things like rural residences. It makes farmland prohibitively expensive for new entrants, especially in traditional areas like tree fruit production. The net end is that we are very much facing a perilous situation here.
There are opportunities, however, for new entrants. At the same time that agriculture within the central Okanagan faces challenges, it's also being presented with some opportunities. The same demographic, the retirees that I referred to earlier, that bears the chalice of succession also possesses often highly disposable incomes and tastes to match, including a taste for fine food and beverages. We only have to look at the wine industry here to see an example of that.
A shift in global supply and demand for fine food and beverage products is also creating opportunities for other local entrepreneurs. I could take you to a little cheese operation at the end of Lakeshore Road here that produces artisan goat cheese, as an example. Burgeoning upper and middle classes in newly developed economies mean that traditional supplies are being diverted to other places. I remember there was an article a year or so ago, where the major importer of fine scotches to Canada was telling all the liquor control boards that we weren't going to get the supplies we used to get in the past because there were better markets in Asia.
Trends in popular culture, such as the 100-mile diet and the “flow of food” movement, are also contributing to these opportunities. Okanagan chefs greatly desire the opportunity to have more fine food products such as premium cheeses, charcuterie, etc. The question is, how can we assist our youth in taking advantage of these opportunities?
Working with local government here as I do, I run a program in which we're basically trying to implement a strategy built on four pillars to help accomplish that. It's not going to answer all the problems that people like Christine or Joe have alluded to, but it will certainly create some opportunities.
One is the need for education. I think Christine was speaking to this. That is, we need to work with our local colleges and universities here in terms of beefing up opportunities.
Another is the creation of an incubation facility—I'll talk to that in a second—where new farmers can get a leg-up or a start, rather than having to necessarily depend on a handout as it's sometimes perceived.
Another thing we're hoping to engage in is foreign direct investment. It's an opportunity to bring in farmers and entrepreneurs from overseas who could provide some new skill sets and renew some of the industry. We saw this somewhat with the wine industry 25 years ago, when foreign vintners and foreign culturists were brought in to help with the new varieties of grapes that were part of the replanting program at the time.
Finally, facilitating some kind of a program that would assure consumers of local quality...and there is quality there, as you can see with the BQA here, or the IGP in Quebec, which I'll talk to in a second.
We're already seeing some success in our discussions with other levels of government. Just last week the Province of B.C. and the local government were able to get to a point to announce that the historic Fintry estate can be used potentially as an incubator farm. It's hoped this will be modelled much after the FarmStart program in Guelph, Ontario, which is highly successful in starting to turn out new farmers. We're also seeing where the FarmStart program is now engaging new Canadians as well. That speaks to our foreign direct investment interests.
The question now is how can federal agencies and the federal government engage in helping to facilitate some of that?
I've already had some discussion with Farm Credit Canada. They're very interested in seeing some replication of the FarmStart program here. They have an interest in lending money to people who have some kind of a track record already and can take their businesses forward.
On a related note, I am dismayed somewhat that at this point in time there is a question with respect to renewed funding for the Canadian Farm Business Management Council. For business training, that is one of the key resources in Canada, in terms of extension materials. I'm hoping that the federal government can step up to the plate and do something there.
With respect to the development of the foreign direct investment program, we look forward to any support and assistance the federal government can provide in helping us in that endeavour, in getting new farmers, new ideas, and particularly new skill sets into this country.
Finally, I would strongly recommend and encourage that the federal government and its agencies take and follow the lead of the Province of Quebec in their development of the Conseil des appellations réservées et des termes valorisants. That's the equivalent of the French appellation control or the Italian denomination control system. Young farmers who are going to engage in these initiatives are making considerable investments and taking considerable risks financially, personally, and otherwise. If they're going to take on the task of developing these skill sets and making those investments, they deserve the respect of having some protection for those products. Also, likewise, on the consumer side, the consumers are looking for that quality assurance as well.
In closing, I would like to thank the chair and the members of the standing committee for providing me with the opportunity to provide witness today.
Thank you.