$955 million agreement between Quebec and Ottawa for sustainable agriculture
The bilateral agreement reached under the new Canadian Partnership for Sustainable Agriculture was renewed Monday morning.
Quebec and Ottawa will invest $955 million in sustainable agriculture in Quebec.
The bilateral agreement between Ottawa and Quebec under the new Canadian Partnership for Sustainable Agriculture (CPA) was renewed on Monday morning.
The joint investment of the governments of Canada and Quebec is estimated at $955 million over the next five years, or $97 million more than the previous strategic framework.
The federal government will invest 60% of the total sum, and Quebec, 40%.
The Minister of Agriculture of Quebec, André Lamontagne, as well as the Minister of Agriculture of Canada, Marie-Claude Bibeau, made the announcement Monday morning in Montreal.
< p class="e-p">Ms. Bibeau explained that the various PCA programs aim to support farmers who promote innovation and sustainable development practices.
She thus cited as an example not only the passionate farmers who are taking action with beneficial management measures such as cover cropping, pasture rotations, with better management of nitrogen fertilizers and all energy efficient technologies, but also processors who innovate to recover agricultural residues [and] to adopt eco-responsible packaging.
Marie-Claude Bibeau stressed that these initiatives always make us more competitive, more productive, more also resilient to climate change.
Every five years, Ottawa signs an agreement with the provinces and territories to invest in strategic agricultural priorities. The last agreement ends on March 31, 2023 and the new Canadian Partnership for Sustainable Agriculture will come into effect on April 1.
“We have 29 000 farmers in Quebec. They are all likely to have the opportunity to access certain funds to improve their practices in the field.
— André Lamontagne, Quebec Minister of Agriculture
He specified that of the sum of 955 million, 588 million will be devoted to risk management and 367 million to strategic initiatives.
For Martin Caron, General President of the Union des producteurs agricole (UPA), the enhancement of the strategic plan is a step in the right direction and sets the stage for an agriculture that must meet the challenges of the 21st century.
< p class="e-p">The President of the UPA underlined that societal expectations with regard to the ecological transition and the very high competitiveness of the markets require an ongoing dialogue as to additional support, but today's announcement ;today is certainly a good start.
The Quebec Association for the Distribution of Fruits and Vegetables (AQDFL) also enthusiastically welcomes the renewal and improvement of the strategic plan.< /p>
For companies in the agri-food sector, especially at this time with market fluctuations, [the fact] of having predictability and the collaboration of the two levels of government with tailor-made programs and concrete support, it& #x27;is very valuable to our industry, said the President and CEO of the AQDFL.
Sophie Perreault pointed out that farmers are increasingly being asked to have practices that respect the environment, which includes the way they package and distribute their products.
And there, we say to them: "You are not alone, we will support you."
The announcement of the two ministers took place in the premises of the Centrale agricole, the largest urban agriculture cooperative in Quebec. This brings together around twenty companies.
Several of our members have obtained support during previous agreements, indicated Jean-Philippe Vermette, explaining that he expects the PCA to continue to support research work on the the circular economy of its members, a practice that is at the heart of the activities of the Centrale agricole.
In the Centrale building, located near the Metropolitan highway, the Opercule company breeds Arctic char. The first urban commercial fish farming company in Quebec plans to produce approximately 30 tonnes of Arctic char per year.
Pools Opercule, a pioneering company in urban commercial fish farming in Quebec.
Another member of the Agricultural Central, Circulus Agtech, transforms fish slime, i.e. organic waste, into fertilizers in order to find substitutes for synthetic fertilizers. These fertilizers could, for example, be used by Lufa Farms, an urban agriculture company that occupies the neighboring building of the Agricultural Centre.
Support for innovation is important if we want to change things and have new technologies that will be adopted on a larger scale, indicated the president of Circulus Agtech, David Leroux, who hopes to obtain funding from the new agreement of the PCA to be able to one day put market the fertilizer produced from fish mud.
From 2023 to 2028, the PCA will represent a total investment of 3.5 billion dollars for all of the federal, provincial and territorial governments.
The first billion is fully funded by the federal government, while the rest is cost-shared in proportions of 60% federal and 40% for provinces and territories.
