You don’t hear much about British Columbia when it comes to the seed industry. The Prairie provinces tend to dominate the conversation — and understandably so. But if you look west, past the mountains and vineyards, you’ll find something quietly impressive growing in B.C.’s agricultural sector: a nimble, highly specialized seed ecosystem that’s punching well above its weight.
Let’s start with a number that might surprise you: $7.6 to $7.8 million. That’s the estimated size of B.C.’s organic and ecological seed market. It might not sound huge — until you realize that’s nearly 30% of the national market. This is a province that’s not just consuming seed. It’s cultivating a culture around it.
That culture is driven by a network of small but mighty producers. According to the Canadian Seed Growers’ Association (CSGA) which will meet in Victoria this week for its annual meeting, B.C. has 24 seed grower members working across 5,561 acres.
That might not be a massive number, but it’s significant, especially for a province where land use pressure is real and farmland is a premium commodity. And they’re not just growing any seed — many of these growers are deeply involved in the organic, ecological, and locally adapted varieties that support a thriving farm-to-fork movement.
B.C.’s plant breeding research community is extensive. There’s a lot of work being done in this area at the University of British Columbia, for example. B.C. researchers are on the cutting edge when it comes to research in genomics and beyond.
Make no mistake — while B.C.’s seed industry may be small in terms of dollars compared to the Prairie powerhouses, its role is far from marginal. It’s helping define what Canadian agriculture could look like in a future that values diversity, sustainability, and regional self-sufficiency.
So the next time someone tells you B.C. isn’t a seed province, tell them to look a little closer. There’s a revolution happening out west — it’s just a little quieter, and a lot more rooted.
