“It’s the beginning of the anger”: the net agricultural income of Quebec producers would fall by more than 86.5% this year

As the fire breaks out in Europe with the outbursts of farmers running out of patience, producers here raise their fists in turn, and between the bitterness and the feeling of being misunderstood, a dull anger is born on the point of bursting.

• Read also: Farmer protests: demystifying the economic impact of grain production in Quebec

“There are heavy actions that will happen. This is the beginning of anger,” says Adrien Papin, cereal producer, forced to close his farm in Saint-Irénée, in the MRC of Charlevoix-Est.

“The price of gasoline has exploded. We have interest rates that are extremely painful. The climate got involved and we have a hard time being compensated,” complains the man, who launched a heartfelt cry at the beginning of the month in Our Earth.

750 kilometers away, at Ferme Pierre Bourdages, in Saint-Siméon-de-Bonaventure, its owner Pierre Bourdages also deplores a lack of listening.

“We have bitterness. We have the feeling of being misunderstood,” breathes the producer of strawberries and market garden products, at the head of around a hundred employees.

“We compete with products from Mexico, which have an average wage of $2 per hour,” continues the man who has a popular agritourism site in his neck of the woods.

• Listen to the interview with Martin Caron, president of the UPA on Richard Martineau’s show via QUB :

Falling income

In Quebec, net agricultural income fell from $959 million in 2022 to $487.1 million last year (-49.2%). It could even drop to $66 million in 2024 (-86.5%), according to forecasts from the Union of Agricultural Producers (UPA), unheard of in 86 years.

Worse still, between 2010 and 2022, agricultural debt jumped by 139% ($11.4 billion in 2010; $27.2 billion in 2022), while net income stagnated in 2022 ($958.6 million). $ in 2010; $959.0 million).

In interview at Newspaperthe general president of the UPA, Martin Caron, evokes a generalized fed-up, which is corrupting the industry.

“We are talking about food autonomy, but the producer can no longer go into debt for this. It’s no longer happening,” sums up the man on the other end of the line.

Last April, The newspaper reported that half of farmers were being squeezed by inflation and that one farm in ten was in direct danger of closing.

“In Canada and Quebec, we are supported three times less than in the United States. We need to correct the situation. It will take $130 million in investments,” he says.

The number 1 of the UPA also deplores the regulatory burden and the enormous delays necessary to carry out projects, such as eco-fees on diesel and propane.

The firm reacts

Invited to react by The newspaperthe office of the Minister of Agriculture, André Lamontagne, recalled having enhanced its agri-environmental practices program by $34 million.

Inflationary context, increase in interest rates, vagaries of the weather… he recognized that these last few months have been tough.

“The programs have supported our producers for more than $1 billion for 2023, compared to $440 million on average over the last 10 years,” it was indicated.

“We are always looking to improve,” we emphasized. The crop insurance program is currently being reviewed.

“We also want to reduce constraints by working to reduce paperwork. We want to give producers breathing space so that they have more time to do what they do best: feed Quebecers,” he concluded.

Highlights

The price of inputs exploded at a rate twice as fast as the consumer price index between 2020 and 2023 (inputs: +31%; CPI: +16%), notes the UPA. Labor costs have also jumped significantly (+88% between 2010 and 2022).