Since my first term as Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, I have had the privilege of traveling throughout our regions and meeting farm families and businesses in the biofood sector. that shape the identity of our territory. The dynamism, the ingenuity and the pride that I observe are reminiscent of the fact that all this vitality is fragile and sometimes depends on very little.
First of all, it is important to emphasize that our agricultural territory, a heritage resource of Quebec, is limited and non-renewable when altered; less than 2% of the total area of Quebec is used for agricultural purposes. We should also note that the best lands to feed us are even fewer in number and are mostly found in the plain of the St. Lawrence, where urban development is mainly concentrated. Finally, our agricultural lands are strategic for the economy of several regions because of the farms that occupy them, and they are the basis of our food self-sufficiency.
Looking at our agricultural territory, we see other findings emerge: loss of cultivated areas, expansion of urban areas, increase in the number of fallow lands, significant increase in the value of land and growing difficulties in accessing it by our succession.
It is in this context that I announced a major national consultation on the territory and agricultural activities, with the objective of drawing up an exact and factual report on the situation, together with reflections and recommendations. A summary report of this process, scheduled for March 2024, will serve as a cornerstone for the modernization of the Act respecting the protection of agricultural land and agricultural activities, which will aim to ensure our ability to feed the Quebec of tomorrow and the vitality of our territory.
The fruit is ripe to shape a new social consensus
This new national discussion is intended to be unifying, respectful of Quebec’s achievements, consistent with the government’s other projects and also clear-sighted about the current state of things. I hope it points to the society we aspire to build for tomorrow.
This approach is part of several aims, in particular the following: increase the protection of agricultural land of better quality, encourage the development of fallow land, reduce certain constraints linked to agricultural activities, promote the cohabitation of uses, promote the vitality of rural communities as well as facilitating access to agricultural land for the next generation.
I would like to see this consensus built with all the players in the agricultural and municipal sectors. Their presence during the announcement testifies to a collective commitment that goes well beyond individual considerations.
I also see a sensitivity among the population about the importance of protecting our agricultural land. I observe in the four corners of Quebec a leadership that aims to better protect and energize it. I now invite us all to work together.
Continuing to feed our world and build our communities
The need to organize the urban development of our territory by protecting our agricultural land will always be both a challenge and a great collective responsibility. Forty-five years after the adoption, at the instigation of Jean Garon, of the Act respecting the protection of agricultural land (1978), we must today recognize the importance, in the interest of the common good and food autonomy in Quebec, to continue the work.
The agricultural land protection system must be maintained, but protecting them alone will not ensure its sustainability. It will also be necessary to develop them, to use them to their full potential, while taking into account environmental considerations and the repercussions of climate change.
Being Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food is a great privilege for me and also the most important role I have had to assume during my professional life. Governing gives us the opportunity to take actions that can be decisive for our society. The time has come to think anew, together and to mobilize ourselves to ensure that we can continue to feed our world for decades to come, to offer future generations the best environment in which to practice agriculture and to contribute to the development of our communities in a vision of the future for Quebec.