Noting the exceptional response from farmers, Quebec will increase its financial compensation program by $15 million for producers who adopt better environmental practices on the farm.
The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, André Lamontagne, will take advantage of his visit to COP15 on Monday morning to make the announcement, learned The Press.
The approach of financially rewarding good performers is the cornerstone of the Sustainable Agriculture Plan (PAD) 2020-2030.
“Paying for environmental services”, particularly those that improve soil health, water quality and pollination, is also one of the proposals found in the text debated at the UN Conference on biodiversity that has been taking place in Montreal for almost a week.
Thanks to the additional funding from Quebec, nearly a thousand Quebec agricultural businesses will be able, as of February 2023, to join the 1,837 farms already registered in the program, the first of its kind in Canada.
Companies that adopt agri-environmental practices favorable to biodiversity such as widened riparian strips or shelterbelts can get up to $50,000 over three years. Using seeds that are not treated with insecticides, reducing the use of herbicides and planting cover crops in winter are also acceptable practices.
New: a continuing education course in agri-environment will be offered at the beginning of next year. About thirty courses will be offered in collaboration with the Institut de technologie agroalimentaire du Québec and other educational institutions. Depending on the number of hours of courses taken, farmers who wish to perfect their knowledge will be able to receive up to $1,500.
For this second turn of the wheel, the most innovative and advanced companies will be granted increased recognition.
Reduce pesticides
The 2020-2030 Sustainable Agriculture Plan aims to reduce the volume of pesticides sold across the province by 15% and the index that quantifies the theoretical risks of pesticides on health and the environment by 40%.
Ultimately, Quebec aims to reduce the total concentration of phosphorus in the province’s waterways by 15% and the addition of nitrogenous fertilizing materials to cultivated areas by 15%.
Initially, the PAD aimed to devote the sum of 70 million over five years to financially reward producers who adopt agri-environmental practices that go beyond the regulatory requirements in place.
However, from the first day of the submission of applications, in March 2022, the limit on the number of files had been reached by 4 p.m. So far, 56 million have been allocated to this first cohort.
With this additional funding of $15 million, the second cohort will have access to an envelope of $29 million until 2027.
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, PRESS ARCHIVES
The 2020-2030 Sustainable Agriculture Plan aims to reduce the volume of pesticides sold in Quebec by 15%.
Eventually, a third cohort could be added to the program since during the election campaign, Premier François Legault promised to inject an additional $50 million into the program.
In total, therefore, $135 million will be on the table to reward the best agri-environmental practices of Quebec farmers.
Reduce GHGs
Recently, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food of Quebec (MAPAQ) made the exercise of quantifying the impact of its PAD on agricultural emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG).
According to his calculation, the GHG reduction potential of the first two cohorts of the PAD would be 0.4 megatonnes (Mt) to 0.5 Mt in CO2 equivalent (eCO2) for the period from 2021 to 2025.
This is equivalent to the emissions of 125,000 medium-sized cars traveling 20,000 km or approximately 2,000 Montreal-Paris flights with 300 passengers.
The federal government recently proposed that the next agricultural policy framework contain a collective GHG emission reduction target of 3 to 5 Mt eCO2 by 2028. According to Environment and Climate Change Canada, the agricultural sector emitted approximately 59 Mt eCO2 in 2018, 13% of which came from Quebec.
In Quebec, the MAPAQ estimates that all of its programs that subsidize green measures in the agricultural sector (including the compensation program) would reduce approximately 1.43 Mt to 2.21 Mt eCO2 emissions over a period of up to 2030, which is more than the relative weight of Quebec within Canada.
In preparation for COP15
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PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
The Minister of Agriculture, André Lamontagne, met on November 18 with nine agricultural experts from McGill University to perfect his knowledge of sustainable production systems.
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PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
The minister also heard suggestions from students in the faculty of agricultural and environmental sciences as well as college students.
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PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
The Minister and his cabinet also visited the experimental dairy farm on campus with Dean Anja Geitmann.
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Minister Lamontagne will speak Monday morning during the 7e Summit of Subnational Governments and Cities, an “official side event” of COP15 and of which the Government of Quebec is the main sponsor. Alongside a dozen dignitaries, Minister Lamontagne will speak at a panel that will stress the importance of making local governments ambassadors for the new global framework on biological diversity, which must be adopted at the end of COP15. To prepare for it and to learn about advances in agro-environmental research, in mid-November he conducted a tour with university experts from McGill and Laval universities.
“We have to work in the right direction,” he told The Press during his time at the Macdonald campus of McGill University. “For example, in agri-environment, if there are 10 avenues that we can explore, in a context of limited resources, which are the best ones to focus on? […] Where is it best to point and put our efforts? Where do we want to take our farmers? During his second mandate, Minister Lamontagne wishes to make “sustainable food self-sufficiency” his top priority.
The food system on the menu at COP15
Pesticides and fertilizers
The 196 countries that are signatories to the Convention on Biological Diversity are debating a proposal to set the world’s first pesticide reduction target. Target 7 proposes to reduce by half or two thirds the use of pesticides by 2030. The text also proposes to reduce by at least half the excess of fertilizers lost in the environment.
Food waste
Target 16 of the text debated at COP15 concerns sustainable consumption choices. Delegates debate whether to include in the final text the goal of halving the global footprint of diets and halving global food waste per capita “so that all people can live well in harmony with mother earth.
Harmful subsidies
Target 18 proposes to eliminate US$500 billion in biodiversity-damaging government subsidies globally, particularly those to the agriculture and fisheries sectors, and redirect them to projects that respect biodiversity. nature. The text also proposes prioritizing the involvement of indigenous and local peoples in this process.
Sustainable agriculture
The mission of COP15 is to define a global framework for nature restoration by 2030. The draft target 10 proposes member countries to ensure that all areas of agriculture, aquaculture, fisheries and forestry are managed sustainably, contributing to the productivity and resilience of these production systems.