Abitibi, Charlevoix, Montérégie, Estrie, Laurentides… After Europe, angry farmers are demonstrating with their tractors almost everywhere in Quebec. They want to attract the attention of elected officials and consumers: us. What exactly is happening? Aces summarize the five main problems for you.
1. Money doesn’t grow on trees
Farmers earn much less money than before. They get their salary when they sell their products. But before they can pay themselves, they must, among other things, pay their employees’ salaries, fuel for their vehicles, fertilizer and equipment. And it all costs more today.
2. Mother Nature’s surprises
Extreme weather events, such as drought and floods, can lead to disastrous harvests. Last summer, for example, the weather ruined many crops. Fewer harvests mean less money in farmers’ pockets.
3. “We can’t feed ourselves with paper”
This is what farmer Émilie Bellefroid told a journalist from The Canadian Press. She raised another issue: paperwork. It is a word that refers to the numerous documents that producers are obliged to complete. And it takes too long to do, according to them! Emilie therefore means that she could use this time to work on her farm, which brings her money and feeds us.
4. Less land in sight
Another problem: land where it is permitted to practice agriculture is increasingly rare. Only a third of them are cultivated at the moment. Fertile land is sacrificed to build roads, residences, businesses or industries.
5. Farmers wanted
Ultimately, all of these issues make it difficult to hire new employees. The lack of succession weakens the future of many farms.
Result: the agricultural crisis
On March 28, François Legault attended a gathering of farmers in Montérégie. He then declared this: “I will be very clear, there is a crisis in agriculture currently. » To help, he suggests “relaxing certain rules”. He also wants to involve the federal government of Justin Trudeau in the search for solutions. Hopefully this will bear fruit!
Lysiane Alexandre, The Aces of Infoaccording to a text by François Carabin, The duty
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