British Columbia has received a cash influx from the government to help maintain farm worker safety standards during the pandemic. The 4.9 million dollars in support funding is expected to be used to maintain health and safety standards of farm workers and to reduce the risk of outbreaks on farms and in produce.
Approvable expenses include. but are not limited to: PPE, improving workstations, infrastructure, housing and other safeguards used to reduce the spread of COVID-19 on farms. The funding works on a split cost basis meaning the farm covers 50% of the expenditures and the government will subsidize the rest. Visible minorities including, indigenous people, women, youth, and people with disabilities can receive additional funding and a more generous coverage of their costs at a 60:40 split.
For small farmers in BC this funding will be able to cover a portion of necessary purchases for safety and worker wellbeing purposes up to $100,000 dollars. For farms that work a retail store on their property, new COVID-19 measures are especially important and with the funding it will be significantly easier to manage the capital costs of keeping stores open.