Quebec giving $200 million to support struggling agricultural producers

Raphael Van Houtte and his son Edouard were among the hundreds of farmers drove their tractors and other farm vehicles through the Monteregie to Vaudreuil-Dorion creating traffic headaches west of Montreal on Wednesday, April 10, 2024. (Peter McCabe/The Canadian Press)

Struggling with catastrophic weather events last summer and skyrocketing operating costs, agricultural producers are finally getting the help they've been asking for from Quebec.

Agriculture Minister André Lamontagne announced Thursday in Les Cèdres, Montérégie, that the provincial government will inject $200 million into various initiatives to support producers.

On the one hand, the aid is intended to counter the devastating effects of the weather, which caused both flooding in southwestern Quebec and drought in Abitibi-Témiscamingue last summer. It will also provide a financial boost to producers whose costs have soared in the wake of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

One of the programs is also designed to protect them against rising interest rates hitting the sector hard, since agriculture requires considerable investment.

Quebec is also announcing significant administrative relief, a long-standing demand of producers.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on June 13, 2024.