October 16, 2024

ROGERSVILLE – Today, Deputy Leader Kevin Arseneau shared the Green Party Plan to support farmers and family farms  in New Brunswick.  

“Agriculture is in crisis in New Brunswick,” said Arseneau. “Farmers are living in poverty and their debt is increasing. It takes leadership to fix this crisis. But all the Liberals and Conservatives can think of is supporting the IBMs - the Irvings, Braggs and McCains - leaving family farms behind.”

Arseneau unveiled the Green Party’s five point plan to support farmers and food processors:

• Set ambitious local procurement targets for public institutions to prioritize locally grown and produced food.
• Develop food import replacement strategies to increase food self-sufficiency.
• Provide financial assistance to remove barriers to small and medium-scale food production, processing, and distribution.
• Undertake an agricultural reform focusing on farm diversification and value-added processing.
• Provide income insurance and extension services to support farmers transitioning to ecological and regenerative farming practices

“Small scale farmers can’t pay bills with passion,” added Arseneau. “We need strong, independent farmers in New Brunswick rather than a concentration of our farmland from a few big corporations. It’s time for a paradigm shift.”

Facts about agriculture in New Brunswick:

• New Brunswick only grows 3 percent of the vegetables that are consumed in the province
• New Brunswick has lost 20 percent of its farms in the last five years.
• The average age of farmers is increasing with only 6.7 percent of N.B. farmers under 35 years old and three-quarters of farms working have a full time job outside of farming.

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