(Montreal) While Quebec’s northern forests burn, farmlands further south die of thirst.
Agricultural producers in Montérégie, Estrie, Centre-du-Québec and Bas-Saint-Laurent, in particular, are watching their land dry up and hoping for abundant rains as soon as possible.
“There is concern because it often comes when there is a lack of water,” explains Martin Caron, president of the Union des producteurs agricole (UPA), in an interview with The Canadian Press.
This lack of water, so early in the season, “affects growth at the very beginning, then it may eventually affect the quality of the products, whether in fruit production, for market gardeners, or on the hay side, fodder and cereals, among others,” he continues.
High dryness index
It is still too early to speak of a critical situation, however.
“Our plants are nevertheless resistant”, specifies Mr. Caron, but the risks are very present, especially, he says, “that there is a slightly higher drying index this year, which is aggravated by the winds that we have had since the beginning of the year”.
La Financière agricole, which operates in the fields of income protection, insurance and agricultural financing adapted to risk management, has been evaluating rainfall since 1998 and notes that since the 1er April, below the annual average of the last 25 years in the regions mentioned above. However, even if regions such as the Outaouais, Laurentides-Lanaudière and other areas flooded this spring received more rain than average, “we notice, in terms of climate change, that we receive 50 millimeters in a day or two and after , it’s dry, “says the president of the producers’ union.
Early use of water supplies
More and more producers in the market gardening sector, in potatoes and all root vegetables and on the horticultural side, have equipped themselves with irrigation systems and have set up water reserves.
“Already, our producers are starting to draw on their water reserves, whereas normally they draw much later for irrigation. Starting to use irrigation systems and reserves at this time is worrying,” explains Martin Caron.
Himself a dairy and grain producer, Martin Caron thus illustrates the situation his colleagues are facing: “If I’m already starting to have my irrigation systems to help, that could put me at risk if I manage a little more late in the fall and I’m going to need water, but my supplies aren’t there or are going to be exhausted already, especially if there isn’t another rain coming. »
“For my people, the idea of starting to use water reserves for irrigation right away is stressing them out a lot. »
Expensive investments
For those who have not yet invested in such irrigation systems, the need to do so faces the current economic reality.
“Our producers have started to settle like this because of climate change. But it still involves large investments. With the current pressure on agriculture linked to inflation and rising interest rates, several producers who wanted to equip themselves this year for irrigation must delay these investments because there is a lack of cash. and, obviously, the stress is amplified,” he says.
“Of course we follow the weather like all of you, but we follow it closely, daily and even hourly,” he concludes, a smile in his voice.
However, the weather forecast is not very encouraging, except for Bas-du-Fleuve, where heavy rainfall is expected this Wednesday. In southwestern Quebec, however, only a little rain is expected in the coming days, certainly not as much as the agricultural community hopes.