The
Fraser Institute has sparked a renewed debate about preserving farmland in
Ontario.
Authors
Glen Fox, an agricultural economist at the University of Guelph, Yi Wang and
Kenneth P. Green, senior director for national resource studies at the Fraser
Institute, have found that there is actually more land being cropped now than
in 1951.
Their
comparison between 1951 and 2012 also reveals that all farmland, which includes
wetlands, woodlots and pastures, declined from 8.4 to 5.1 million hectares.
They also
note that yields have increased – for grain corn from 6,000 to 10,000 kilograms
per hectare, for winter wheat 48 per cent and for soybeans 40 per cent.
They say
the statistics indicate that the loss of farmland is more a planning failure
than a market failure. Market failures are often addressed via legislation and
regulations, such as the current debate about a carbon tax.
The
authors note that land for environmental preservation used to be purchased by
the province, but it stopped buying and instead imposed restrictions on
property owners.
That
means they bear the burden of providing public benefits that, they argue, ought
to be paid by all people.
They also
note that preserving farmland does not happen in an economic vacuum. It means
that housing, commercial and industrial development and infrastructure
projects, such as highways and pipelines, need to go to less desirable
locations.
There’s a
cost, they argue, such as higher housing costs, fewer jobs and traffic
congestion. There are also consequences for wildlife habitat and recreation,
they argue.
The
Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario was the first general farm organization
to lobby for farmland preservation, including a ban on lot severances for
housing, including retirement homes for farmers.
It’s
therefore natural that the CFFO be the first farm organization to respond to
this study, which Paul Bootsma has done in the organization’s weekly
commentary.
He
writes:
“The
authors argue that the land should go to the highest bidder who then should be
able to use it for whatever the buyer deems best.
“This
asks the question, do we need stronger legislation in Ontario to ensure that
food producing land stays solely for that purpose?
"Southwestern Ontario has
some of the world’s best land for food production and we need to retain it for
that purpose.
“Agriculture is a mainstay industry in Ontario and creates many
job opportunities in the food industry as well.
“Development
seems most intense in southern Ontario and therefore there is a strong need for
government legislation to protect farmland in Ontario.
“The
concern for providing food for the global population, which is on a steady
rise, is real, and we need to be adamant that our best food producing land
remain in that use.”
