We are developing provincial guidance to support implementation of the agricultural system approach under the Provincial Planning Statement, 2024. We will post it on this page when ready.

Overview

The Provincial Planning Statement, 2024 (PPS 2024) requires planning authorities to use an agricultural system approach, based on provincial guidance.

The agricultural system has 2 components:

  • an agricultural land base
  • an agri-food network

This approach is applied through official plan policies and/or schedules to maintain and enhance a geographically continuous agricultural land base and support and foster the long-term economic prosperity and productive capacity of the agri-food network.

Implementing the agricultural system

Component 1: Agricultural land base

The agricultural land base:

  • consists of prime agricultural areas, including specialty crop areas
  • may include other rural lands that:
    • are in agricultural production
    • contribute to a continuous and productive land base for agriculture

Prime agricultural areas

Planning authorities must identify and designate (map and put on a schedule) prime agricultural areas, including specialty crop areas. This is done by using provincial guidance or mapping from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness (OMAFA).

Maintaining designations

Planning authorities must:

  • designate these areas in a schedule in an official plan
  • maintain these designations over time
  • update designations during official plan updates

Updates may be required, for example:

  • when new mapping or improved datasets become available
  • to reflect land use changes (for example, fragmentation from development that affects the accuracy of existing prime agricultural area boundaries)

Rural lands

Municipalities can include rural lands as part of the agricultural land base where they enhance continuity or reflect concentrated areas of agricultural activity. These lands retain their rural designation, as defined in the PPS, and are subject to the same policies under PPS 2024.

Pre-consultations

Municipalities should do a pre-consultation with:

This should be done at the time of an official plan review to assess:

  • whether updates to existing official plan prime agricultural area mapping are warranted
  • available resources to support the maintenance and updating of mapping

Component 2: agri-food network

The PPS 2024 includes policies that require planning authorities to support and maintain the economic viability of the agri-food sector.

This includes ensuring access to:

  • services (such as equipment sales, veterinary services, financial services)
  • infrastructure (such as road, rail and port transportation systems, primary food processing facilities, distribution facilities)
  • assets (such as labour force, expertise, supply chains, distribution networks)

Together, these elements support agricultural production, processing, distribution and market access.

Requirements

Planning authorities must include agri-food network policies in their official plans as part of the agricultural system approach. However, the network is not required to be designated or mapped it in official plan schedules.

While the PPS 2024 requires municipalities to consider and support the network, the policy approach is flexible and may include encouraging or other supportive policy language rather than prescriptive requirements.

Policies to support the agri-food network apply to all municipalities, including those without prime agricultural areas. For example, urban areas may contain essential components such as food processors, storage facilities, terminals, distribution hubs and other important components and infrastructure that are critical to the agri-food sector. The scale and scope of agri-food network policies may vary depending on municipal context.

Municipal support

Municipalities are encouraged to consult with OMAFA staff to discuss available tools and resources either:

  • at pre-consultation
  • during the official plan draft stage

Tools and resources, such as the Agricultural Systems Portal, can support the identification and fostering of the agri-food network.

Resources

Additional information about implementing the agricultural system approach is available in the Implementation Procedures for the Agricultural system in Ontario’s Greater Golden Horseshoe. These procedures continue to apply only to lands within the Greenbelt Plan area.

The following resources can support municipalities in identifying, assessing and supporting components of the agri-food network: