In the interview, Margaret Johnson, MLA for Carleton Victoria and former New Brunswick Minister of Agriculture, Aquaculture, and Fisheries, discusses her passion for supporting agriculture despite not being a farming expert. A lifelong resident of Carlton County, she emphasizes the challenges farmers face, including regulatory hurdles, biosecurity requirements, and federal-provincial jurisdictional conflicts, which complicate food production. She highlights the struggle to achieve food security in New Brunswick, noting that the province is only 7-9% self-sufficient in fruits and vegetables, with a heavy reliance on potatoes, blueberries, and apples. Johnson advocates for increasing local food production through controlled environment agriculture and cooperatives to ensure consistent supply, but acknowledges barriers like high costs for land, inputs, and heating.She addresses the aging farmer demographic (average age 56) and the difficulty young farmers face entering the industry due to land costs and lack of succession. Johnson suggests cooperative models, such as grazing agreements, and reforms to programs like FLIP to make farmland more accessible. She expresses frustration with grocery chains prioritizing imports over local produce and supports a grocery code of conduct to ensure fair pricing. On food security, she notes a 25% increase in food bank usage, particularly among seniors, and criticizes funding cuts to organizations like Greener Village, which teach food preservation and cooking skills to reduce waste (58% of food is wasted nationally). Johnson emphasizes empowering communities through education, community gardens, and rebuilding neighborhood trust to foster self-sufficiency. She also touches on regulatory barriers for small-scale producers, like raw milk sales, and the need for legislative changes to support local markets while maintaining safety standards. Throughout, she stresses collaboration, non-partisanship, and practical solutions to enhance New Brunswick’s agricultural and food security landscape.
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