PRESS RELEASE: Report calls for urgent action to help Nova Scotia’s struggling food and agriculture systems

Mi’kma’ki/Nova Scotia - A new report from the Ecology Action Centre (EAC) is calling for urgent and coordinated efforts to address the serious challenges faced by Nova Scotia’s food and agricultural systems. Growing at Home: Nova Scotia Local Food and Agriculture Report paints a sobering picture of the sector's vulnerabilities, while highlighting opportunities for government investment and cross-sectoral collaboration. 

“Our food producers are under extreme pressure,” says Vicki Madziak, community food coordinator with the EAC. “Nova Scotians are ready to support local, but if we want a food system that feeds our communities and withstands shocks like climate change and tariffs, we need serious investment — in both infrastructure and policy.” 

The authors estimate that rates of local food consumption in the province are hovering around 14 per cent – a figure that has remained largely unchanged for over a decade. This is despite Nova Scotia’s total food expenditures steadily increasing every year. People are spending more on food but local food is not seeing the same increases. While most of the data available is before the tariff-related push for local, the report also points to declining farmland, an aging workforce and unstable farm incomes as key concerns. These concerning trends indicate the need for coordinated strategy and partnership across the food system to support producers. 

Still, there are signs of momentum. N.S. now has the most farmers’ markets per capita in Canada, and public interest in local food remains high. 

“Nova Scotia stands at a crossroads,” says Justin Cantafio, executive director of Farmers’ Markets of Nova Scotia and contributor to the report. “The data points us toward solutions we know can work. Programs like the Nova Scotia Loyal Voucher Program have shown that when government invests in local food infrastructure and regional resilience, the benefits ripple across our communities, keeping more of our food dollars here at home.” 

Madziak adds: “We have the data, the desire and the tools. What we need now is an increased commitment — across governments and communities — to build a food system that will put healthy and affordable local food on Nova Scotians’ tables.” 

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