Quebec farmers demand immediate assistance, say livelihoods are on the line

In the wake of weather conditions that have been disastrous for agricultural production, Quebec has announced the creation of a special task force to "paint an accurate picture of the situation" for farmers affected by the bad weather.

The task force will be drawn from La Financière agricole du Québec's (FADQ) crop condition monitoring committee, said André Lamontagne, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, in a press release on Thursday.

"This committee will be supported by a technical follow-up unit made up of government representatives and producers," said Lamontagne.

Its aim will be to maximize existing programs and suggest ways of improving the crop insurance program (ASREC), so that it meets the needs of the agricultural sector.

Lamontagne said he was "very sensitive" to the situation facing farmers. He said he was working with various stakeholders to ensure that everyone is aware of the assistance available.

"I'm asking producers to continue forwarding their damage notices to La Financière agricole du Québec so that they can quickly obtain the appropriate support. The creation of the special working group and the support it will receive from the technical committee will enable us to draw up a complete picture of the situation for insured and uninsured businesses, while analyzing the effectiveness of the programs already in place," he said in a press release.

Over the past few weeks, the province's agricultural producers have faced a fairly intense weather cocktail. Torrential rains, high winds and even hail have been unleashed on their fields.

According to the Union des producteurs agricoles (UPA), the absence of viable harvests and losses of up to 80 per cent in many cases are jeopardizing the future of many farms.

The Association des producteurs maraîchers du Québec, the Association des producteurs de fraises et framboises du Québec, the Producteurs de pommes de terre du Québec and the Producteurs de légumes de transformation du Québec, and the UPA welcome Minister Lamontagne's announcement.

However, they are calling for immediate assistance independent of existing programs, pointing out that existing programs "were not designed to mitigate the growing risks of climate change."

In fact, many producers are refusing to sign up, demonstrating that "an in-depth reform long requested by the industry" is necessary.

The UPA also points out that "producers finance more than a third of these programs from their contributions and deductibles, as the case may be."

Producers point to "funding for urgent work to preserve salvageable crops and an enhancement of the FADQ's ad hoc program, announced last May, to support farm businesses affected by the inflationary context," as examples that can help them immediately.

The UPA also points to the removal of the net profit-based intervention limit from the Agri-Québec Plus program as another quick support for producers.

"The UPA and the horticultural organizations concerned will play an active part in the work of the new task force, emphasizing the needs that are emerging in the sector as a result of climate change. But in our view, the exceptional situation facing Quebec growers calls for assistance that is just as exceptional, rapid, commensurate with needs and outside existing programs,", insisted UPA General President Martin Caron in a press release.

This report was first published in French by The Canadian Press on Aug. 18, 2023.