Agriculture finds increasingly fertile ground in Quebec City. Over the past eight years, the number of urban farms has tripled, to the point of placing the Quebec capital among the top of its class, in the middle of metropolises like London, Paris or New York. A look at a city that is increasingly playing its garden side.
Discreet between three residential buildings in the Saint-Sauveur district, the Ô Champignon farm is nevertheless teeming with life. Intended to delight the surrounding population, oyster mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms and other mushrooms grow quietly inside its three greenhouses,
“Approximately 95% of my customers are located 5 km from here,” explains farmer-owner Iris Chabout. “The vast majority are restaurants. » And not the least: Château Frontenac, Auberge Saint-Antoine… The pioppinos and adipose pholiotes that grow here are found on the most famous tables in Quebec.
It is also harvest time during the passage of the Duty. Mask on her nose to protect herself from the spores that fill the air inside the greenhouses, Iris enters to pick the precious fruits from the mycelium. “We spend two hours in there. In the long run, this could cause significant respiratory problems. » Every job has its dangers.
The mushroom farm’s business prospered as quickly as the sheepsfoot growing in its greenhouses. Every week, between 100 and 200 kilos of mushrooms come out – this is two to four times the initial manufacturing volume, in 2022.
Young shoots growing
Quebec’s growth in commercial agriculture is dazzling: the city had 6 urban farms in 2016, 9 in 2020, and 18 today. Their number has therefore tripled in eight years, and doubled since 2020.
For comparison, New York City hosts only four more urban farms on its territory, despite a population 15 times larger than that of Quebec. London, and its 9 million Londoners, has, conversely, 10 fewer, according to a comparative study between 10 cities in Canada, the United States and Europe carried out last year by the Laboratory on urban agriculture (AU/LAB).
Another report published in January by the same laboratory indicates that Quebec sits at the top of the international ranking in terms of the number of commercial farms as a proportion of the population. With one agricultural business for 30,525 inhabitants, the capital is well ahead of Paris, London, Toronto or Vancouver — and just slips ahead of Montreal.
And the momentum is not slowing down, far from it: eight other agricultural companies plan to take root in Quebec, in areas as varied as market gardening, aquaponics, beekeeping and insect breeding.
“For around fifteen years, there has really been work being done among the population to democratize and raise awareness of urban agriculture,” observes Marie-Andrée Asselin, co-author of the Portrait of commercial urban agriculture in Quebec City in 2023 from AU/LAB.
Green thumb at city hall
This popularization of urban agriculture, first carried out by organizations working in agriculture in white zones, has reached City Hall for several years. In 2015, Quebec announced its ambition to become “a leader” in urban agriculture by 2025.
The arrival of the pandemic in 2020 accelerated the adoption of an action plan in which the City promised in particular to become “more favorable to the establishment of agricultural businesses in urban areas”. The mayor at the time, Régis Labeaume, promised to increase initiatives “so that we all plunge our hands into the earth”.
These grains sown in 2020 are bearing fruit four years later: agricultural businesses are scrambling in Quebec, and almost half of the population (46%) says they practice some form of urban agriculture, at home or in one of the city’s 38 community gardens.
Quebec, however, came a long way, explains Mélanie Simard, economic development advisor to the City. “Commercial urban agriculture did not exist in the regulations. Before May 2022, agricultural operations had to be established in industrial zones, which corresponded less to several types of businesses. » Seven months after taking office, Bruno Marchand’s administration relaxed the rules to allow agricultural businesses to occupy commercial space.
This is how Ô Champignon was able to take root in a premises formerly occupied by a printing press. “It was really a game changer », explains Iris Chabout, apologizing for the Englishness. This mushroom enthusiast, with a degree in microbiology and microchemistry, spent a long time looking for industrial premises suited to her needs, in vain. “The lack of available space remains a problem, but the new regulations have greatly increased the possibilities. »
“Looking for premises is not easy,” admits Mélanie Simard. “Insect breeding, for example, can create reluctance among certain owners who are unfamiliar with the field. There is a lot of education to be done on that front. »
Quebec also supports farmers in their quest for a space in which to plant their ambitions. The City also makes a point of informing agricultural entrepreneurs of the different financing possibilities available to them.
“Navigating municipal programs can be complex,” admits Marie-Josée Asselin, advisor responsible for urban agriculture issues on the executive committee. “We set up the QuébecCulteurs support service to prevent entrepreneurs from missing out on opportunities just because they haven’t seen everything they could have access to. »
A population in vegetable gardens
A city grant will soon allow Iris Chabout to purchase an industrial autoclave. With this equipment on hand, she will be able to convert her mushrooms into processed products. “We are a growing company,” she says. Marketing, however, remains difficult to manage with a single employee.
“Marketing is the crux of the matter,” believes Marie-Andrée Asselin — who is not related to the advisor of the same surname. “Most small commercial urban agriculture projects are run by one or two people. The entrepreneur must wear several hats: he is responsible for social networks, must take charge of his own marketing, packaging, deliveries, etc. I would like citizens to get used to picking up their mushrooms, their microgreens or their honey directly from producers near them. »
The City, by encouraging its population to “dip their hands into the earth”, also hopes to develop this taste for freshness and peasant know-how. “When you try to grow tomatoes at home and it doesn’t work, you discover that it’s quite an art,” believes advisor Marie-Josée Asselin. “Afterwards, when we go to meet the market gardener who grows tomatoes and he explains to us where they come from, the tomato no longer has the same taste. Nor the same value. »