Andrew McClelland
The Advocate

La Financière agricole du Québec has unveiled its 2023-2024 balance sheet, showing that the provincial farm insurance agency provided nearly $1.23 billion in loan guarantees to Quebec farmers in the last fiscal year.

Much of that money was granted to dairy and commercial crop companies ($734.1 million) and forestry producers ($9 million). The FADQ cites climate change and inflation as the big reasons why Quebec producers and agri-food companies needed to appeal to their provincial agricultural risk management agency.

“Faced with difficult climatic conditions and the inflationary economic context, La Financière agricole has demonstrated its support for agricultural producers through its agility, support and ability to adapt its programs,” said FADQ president and CEO Ernest Desrosiers.

That $1.23 billion also comprises 2,305 projects under the FADQ’s Sustainable Growth Investment Program (Programme Investissement Croissance Durable), an envelope of funding for agricultural entrepreneurs undertaking productive and sustainable investment projects.

“Our organization continues its mission for sustainable agriculture,” Desrosiers said. “For Quebec ag companies, we’re a strategic partner through our unique offer in terms of risk management and financing.”

In its efforts to support the next generation of Quebec farmers, the agency awarded 501 grants in 2023-2024, totalling $11.4 million. In its “Young Entrepreneurs” program, FADQ committed amounts of $3 million for 189 projects.

FADQ’s yearly report also showed it paid $820 million into insurance and income protection programs. Crop insurance programs (ASREC) paid $196 million in compensation, including nearly $66 million to companies producing cereals, grain corn and protein crops. For the Agricultural Income Stabilization Insurance (ASRA), compensations represented $382 million, with 6,181 people, especially for hog farms as Quebec’s pork industry continues to suffer from plant closures and instability caused from recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ”Agri” programs — Agri-stability, Agri-Québec and Agri-investment — paid out $243 million to Quebec producers and agribusinesses.

Business Risk Management pay-outs

• Agri-stability
  • 13,183 participants
  • Payments of $66 million
• Agri-Quebec Plus
  • 10,458 participants
  • Payments of $6.3 million
• Agri-investment
  • 17,695 participants
  • Government contributions of $40 million
• Agri-Québec (year of participation 2022)
  • 14,786 participants
  • Government contributions of $130 million