With recent reports from Statistics Canada showing the Nova Scotia Farming Industry losing money the head of the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture said the industry is not falling but is instead an industry that is stretched.
Alicia King
Alicia King, a local farmer at Six Maples farm in Antigonish county and president if the NSFA, said the Stat Can numbers aren`t a new issue, calling it a complex matter involving a number of pieces of the Nova Scotia agriculture industry.
The federation discussed the topic during a ministerial roundtable back in May, with agriculture minister and Guysborough-Tracadie MLA Greg Morrow. During the roundtable, said King, the federation discussed the need for an industry led strategy, with a focus on growth, competitiveness, and the sustainability of the industry.
The Ecology Action Centre recently released a report titled Growing at Home: Nova Scotia Local Food and Agriculture Report suggesting farmers can benefit from selling more at local markets. The report noted of the agriculture operations that sell locally, the most common rationale was that local food provides a higher margin compared to other market channels.
King said any purchases that are local will keep those dollars within the province.