New study shows Metro Vancouver residents place a high value on farmland
 |
An Estimate of the Public Amenity Benefits and Ecological Goods |
A 2009 study finds that members of the public across Metro Vancouver place a high dollar value on the multiple benefits local farmland offers. An Estimate of the Public Amenity Benefits and Ecological Goods Provided by Farmland in Metro Vancouver found that residents across the region identified local food, greenspace and wildlife habitat as the top three benefits of farmland. Metro Vancouver residents were surveyed to find out what they would pay if invited to preserve 1,000 acres of local farmland. When factored across all households in the region, the public value worked out to $58,000 per acre each year, as much as ten times the land’s annual market value for food production.
The study was conducted for the Fraser Basin Council by agrologist Mark Robbins in collaboration with the Public Policy Program of Simon Fraser University. Support for the study was provided by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of B.C. (IAF), the Real Estate Foundation of B.C. and the B.C. Ministry of Agriculture and Lands.
For details, see:
- Executive Summary
- Full Report: An Estimate of the Public Amenity Benefits and Ecological Goods Provided by Farmland in Metro Vancouver
- Appendix