DATE:
August 17, 2022
06
TO:
Board of Supervisors
SUBJECT
Title
ADOPT RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING APPLICATION FOR THE SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURAL CONSERVATION LANDS PROGRAM PLANNING GRANT PROMOTING AGRICULTURAL SUSTAINABILITY (DISTRICTS: ALL)
Body
OVERVIEW
Declining agricultural trends in San Diego County, if not carefully addressed, will continue to negatively impact our local farming communities, our rural economies, and the larger San Diego region as a whole. Not only is agriculture a major economic driver for the region, but it is also at the cornerstone of modern civilization, having ushered us into a world where food supplies and other farmed goods necessary for our survival are more plentiful and widely available. However, with ever-shifting political priorities, local impacts from climate change, and a host of other challenges, farmers in our region are increasingly at risk of going out of business. For example, the Fallbrook region, known as the "avocado capital of the world," has experienced a loss of nearly 20% of its avocado groves in the past few years, suggesting that growing avocados is becoming economically infeasible for many of our local farmers. 1
Conventional wisdom is that rising costs of water, compounding governmental regulations, and urban interface issues including competition for housing and other non-agricultural land uses are leading to more urban landscapes within the rural communities, causing lands previously used for agricultural purposes to be developed for other commercial or residential uses. The root cause is likely a combination of all these factors and possibly others. In order to deliver meaningful and impactful solutions for our struggling farming communities, particularly small farms, it is critical to identify the true underlying causes specific to the San Diego region. Working to support a prosperous and resilient agricultural industry in the region will require technologies and practices that build on agro-ecologic...
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