CITY OF CHANGES: Agriculture as important as ever
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Updated: July 09, 2009 7:19 AM
Abbotsford’s appearance may have changed dramatically in its urban core, but the city’s rural outskirts are a different story.
In the early 1900s, once Abbotsford’s early settlers had removed many acres of trees from the landscape, these men and women quickly figured that the Fraser Valley’s mild climate and fine soils made it the perfect environment for agriculture.
Dairy, poultry, vegetables and fruits have flourished on local land ever since. It means that 100 years later, the industry is as important as ever to Abbotsford and its economy.
According to an extensive study released in February by the Abbotsford Chamber of Commerce, in 2008, the local agriculture sector supported 11,300 full-time jobs – one in five of all jobs in Abbotsford – and counted for $1.8 billion worth of expenditures in the local economy.
Agriculture also brings large sums of money into the area, the chamber said, with farms from outside Abbotsford spending $227 million each year on farm-based goods and services.
When it comes to farm gate sales – transactions that take place directly at farms – the chamber says Abbotsford has the highest number in B.C. The city also has the largest farm gate sales per hectare in Canada, more than three times that of the next highest area.
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