Agriclimat: Farms Adapted for the Future

This project changed the perception of climate change among farmers and agricultural advisors following discussion meetings and various local, regional and provincial presentations. It also increased the resilience of Québec farms to climate change and made this resilience accessible through information sheets and regional climate change adaptation plans.

Project details

Scientific program

2014-2019 programming

Theme(s) and priority(s)

Commercial Agriculture, Fisheries and Aquaculture

Start and duration

April 2017 • January 2021

Project Status

Completed

Principal(s) investigator(s)

Sarah Delisle

Conseil pour le Développement de l’Agriculture du Québec

Context

Agriculture represents the most important activity of the primary sector in Québec and a leading economic player. In 2015, the sector generated $8.2 billion in revenues and provided 55 800 jobs. Under future climate scenarios projected for 2050, Québec farms will be exposed to major operational risks.

Farmers remain relatively unaware and underinformed about climate change and its related issues. This project is an initiative launched by Québec farmers to better understand climate change and its impacts. It aims to begin the process of adapting farms to ensure food security and the viability of Québec businesses while promoting the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices.

Objective(s)

Agriclimat is a large-scale provincial initiative with the objective of producing regional agricultural climate change adaptation plans for nine administrative regions in Québec;
The project also aims to educate and raise awareness among farmers and stakeholders in the agricultural sector about projected climate change, its impacts and potential adaptation measures

Methodology

Use a participatory approach to co-create regional adaptation plans: form regional working groups made up of farmers and agricultural stakeholders (regional and local workshops), consult available scientific expertise (literature review, experts), draw up regional climate profiles, identify the main threats and opportunities for each region’s agricultural industries, identify priority adaptation measures;
Create 9 duos (one agronomist and one union agent per region) responsible for coordinating regional working groups and organizing local meetings;
Raise awareness among Québec farmers and agricultural stakeholders about targeted themes related to adaptation to climate change (organize webinars).

Results

Mobilization of the agricultural community

Across the province, nearly 4,000 people received information through Agriclimat’s activities over the three years, about 50% of whom were farmers. The overall result is as follows:

2,050 participants in 82 Agriclimat workshops;
More than 1,200 participants in 6 webinars;
120 people involved in the regional working groups (RWG);
27 RWG meetings, totalling more than 300 hours of discussions;
108 stakeholders consulted on regional issues across Québec;
750 participants in 10 regional forums.

10 climate change adaptation plans for agriculture

The knowledge acquired during this project was summarized in different documents. First, the Agriclimat team developed 10 climate change adaptation plans for agriculture. These documents paint a picture of the expected changes in climate and provide a comprehensive overall vision of the impacts of climate change on agriculture in the region.

They present adaptation measures at the farm, regional and provincial levels, targeting areas of action such as water and soil management, reducing threats from heat and water shortages in summer, and crop pests and diseases. To view the adaptation plans for the following regions:

Figure 1 : Mesures pour maintenir et améliorer la santé des sols en production végétale – Plan d’adaptation du Bas-Saint-Laurent

83 information sheets

In addition, climate change information sheets were developed for these same regions, targeting the main types of production. These 83 sheets present the climate changes expected for the region, the impacts on production, and the adaptation options to be considered on the farm. For example, for the Bas-Saint-Laurent region (in french only):

Benefits for adaptation

Changed the perception of climate change among farmers and agricultural advisors following discussion meetings and various local, regional and provincial presentations;

Increased the resilience of Québec farms to climate change and made this resilience accessible through information sheets and regional climate change adaptation plans;

Mobilized a large number of agricultural organizations, farmers groups, Québec experts, research centres and educational institutions to gain a better understanding of the issues and threats caused by climate change;

Provided training for agricultural professionals, who have become active resources in the regions.