Parkland and Agriculture

Surrey is a diverse and growing city with a strong agricultural community. This combination allows for a local, sustainable and secure supply of high-quality food, contributing a high level of agricultural economic activity relative to the City's share of the provincial Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR).

Surrey has made important strides in supporting its important place in Metro Vancouver's regional agricultural landscape through policy and planning. These measures, while critical, are only one aspect of preserving the community’s farming future.

Farming and agricultural stewardship also play an important role in achieving the City’s biodiversity conservation and climate change commitments.

The plan

Parkland in Surrey’s ALR: A comprehensive plan for agriculture, supported by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of B.C., examined the role that parklands in Surrey’s ALR could play in:

maintaining a thriving, viable agricultural economy that is sustainable and resilient in the face of change (i.e., climate, markets and practices),
creating opportunities for the wider community to engage in and learn about the benefits of agriculture, and
connecting the dots between natural areas, ecosystems services and tangible benefits to agricultural productivity, soil health and water conservation.

The plan was developed by Upland Agricultural Consulting, in consultation with key stakeholders in the City’s agriculture community, including members of Surrey’s agricultural advisory committee, the Surrey Farmer’s Institute, agricultural leaseholders in parks, Metro Vancouver and organizations working on agricultural land management and stewardship in the Lower Mainland.

Completed in summer 2022, the plan will guide and inform broader agricultural planning objectives for existing and future parks in Surrey’s ALR. The plan also aligns with Metro Vancouver’s Agriculture and Healthy Food Systems and Climate 2050 Roadmap priorities.

download the plan

Study area

Map of agriculture land reserve in Surrey.

Farmland Advantage's work in Surrey with A Rocha (Brooksdale) on the Little Campbell River is helping to advance objectives developed for the City's plan for agricultural stewardship in parks.