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“A catastrophic year” is perhaps the expression that Patrice Léger Bourgoin has repeated most often since last summer. Director general of the Association of Market Gardeners of Quebec (APMQ), he was at the forefront of the misfortunes of its approximately 390 members.
This year was the year when the new climate reality hit hard.
As early as August, the APMQ and the Union of Agricultural Producers (UPA) launched an appeal for help to the government in order to obtain emergency financial support. They recalled that extreme weather events would become more and more frequent and unpredictable in the context of the climate crisis, leading to “increasing risks”. Far from the press conferences, in Saint-Vallier-de-Bellechasse, producer Dave Bolduc watched his strawberries spoil in the rain.
“I started young, as soon as I was able. At eight years old, I knew how to drive a tractor,” he says. From the fourth generation of market gardeners, he took over the Le Jardin de Valléville farm at just 21 years old. His memory as a farmer is therefore also that of his predecessors: “And I would say that we have had few years as bad. We shouldn’t spend two or three years like that. »
Inflation is also being felt, he recalls, with producers having to pay more for inputs, such as fertilizers, seedlings, pest control, machinery, etc.
On Mr. Bolduc’s land, the drought in May initially delayed the germination of several grains. Then, very strong winds at the beginning of June wiped out several crops: “I saw beans burned by the wind. For autumn strawberries, all the leaves are gone, just the heart of the plants remained,” relates Mr. Bolduc. Then came too much rain.
His year was not the most disastrous among producers, he is keen to point out: “But yes, it was a really stressful summer. You see your stock getting lost in the field, you can’t go harvest it and you see the rain that just won’t stop. »
A mortgaged future
Compensation for losses suffered in market gardening was highest in Lanaudière and Montérégie, while it was found in Chaudière-Appalaches. The amounts claimed for damages from the Financière agricole du Québec, which administers crop insurance, have likely reached records.
Overall, $81.6 million had been paid to all insured producers by mid-November. The average for the last 5 years was rather 46.7 million and that of the last 10 years, 29.3 million. Maple production was particularly hard hit by losses, with $33 million paid just for maple syrup. But there are also several hundred notices of damage for fresh vegetable crops, processing vegetables, small fruits, apples and potatoes.
At the Des Jardins Vaes farm in Lavaltrie, nearly 80% of the crops were damaged, reports Marie-Hélène Martel, the administrative director. This farm, where four generations of producers have taken turns, and which today mainly produces celery, lettuce and green onions, has suffered significant financial repercussions.
The first crop was flooded by rains, then a tornado struck on July 13, wiping out another crop.
“We are trying to structure ourselves to get through it in the years to come, hoping that we do not relive this situation. We keep our heads held high, we’re really not the type to feel sorry for ourselves,” says M.me Martel.
Small family farms, like that of Dave Bolduc, and larger ones, like that of Mme Martel, reflect certain choices made in Quebec. “In the 1970s, we wanted to favor human-scale farms on the market gardening side,” says Mr. Léger Bourgoin, rather than having multinationals monopolizing the fruit and vegetable market. This trend has led to a certain diversification of the products available according to him.
“Having SMEs in the context of current climate change raises concerns about the equitable sharing of climate risks. And governments do not share this concern to the same extent as us,” explains this director general.
A few days before 2024, he deplores that governments have not yet responded favorably to requests for aid. “There is no answer, we don’t know where we are going. However, it is the time of year when market gardeners have decisions to make for the next season,” he recalls.
The Minister of Agriculture, André Lamontagne, confirmed in early November that a review of crop insurance is underway and announced modifications to certain loans. Criticized by disgruntled producers at the recent UPA Annual Congress, he assured them of his full commitment.
The reforms and loans are a “step in the right direction”, adds Mr. Léger Bourgoin, but in the face of climate change, we must not just “push the problem away”.