Quebec City, Québec,Canada
June 22, 2022

The federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, and the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Minister responsible for the Chaudière-Appalaches region and Minister responsible for the Centre-du-Québec region, André Lamontagne, jointly announced $1,956,876 in funding to Université Laval and the École de technologie supérieure to support research in the greenhouse sector in Quebec.

The funding is being provided through the Agri-Food Innovation Partnership Program under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership.

The investment will help establish two research and teaching chairs at Université Laval and develop a new greenhouse model, specific to Quebec, with sustainable materials, by the École de technologie supérieure.

Quotes

“Our government is committed to supporting research in the agricultural sector, particularly when it leads to the development of green innovations. The investments made at UNiversité Laval and the École de technologie supérieure will support Quebec's greenhouse growers in growing fresh fruits and vegetables year-round.”

-   The Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food

“By extending our production season and diversifying our product offering, we are working toward sustainable food autonomy for Quebec. The way to achieve this, however, calls for innovation and developing new ways of farming. Greenhouse cultivation is a way forward to feed Quebecers, and our government is proud to support research in this sector. In addition, we are contributing to greater competitiveness of our businesses and promoting our economy.”

-   André Lamontagne, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Minister responsible for the Chaudière-Appalaches region and Minister responsible for the Centre-du-Québec region

Quick facts

• The Chair of Teaching Leadership in the Optimization and Management of Greenhouse Energy and Climate in Quebec aims to:

  • provide Quebec with new expertise dedicated to greenhouse energy management to provide training to engineers, agronomists, advisors and producers through innovative knowledge transfer.
  • promote the development of the sector by developing an original research program and by participating in inter-university research and development projects in greenhouse energy management.

• The objective of the Research Chair in Greenhouse Plant Protection is to create a translational research program focused on diseases and pests present in Quebec greenhouses. This will make it possible to implement integrated management to reduce the use of pesticides, increase production quality and quantity, as well as the training of highly qualified personnel.

• The main objective of the École de technologie supérieure project is to develop a new Quebec greenhouse model for small and medium-sized greenhouse enterprises with sustainable materials produced from a circular economy perspective. Different covering materials and structures will be studied.

• Last May, under the Agri-Food Innovation Partnership Program, $500,000 was awarded for a research project by the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Université Laval on the efficient use of electricity for greenhouse heating and lighting.

• The Agri-Food Innovation Partnership Program, under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP), is a commitment of $3 billion over five years (2018-2023) from Canada’s federal, provincial and territorial (FPT) governments to support Canada’s agri-food and agri-based products sector. This includes a $2 billion cost-shared commitment between the federal government (60%) and provincial and territorial governments (40%), for programs designed and delivered by provinces and territories to strengthen and grow Canada's agriculture sector.

Associated links

• Canadian Agricultural Partnership:
• Agri-Food Innovation Partnership Program: (en français seulement)
• Canadian Agricultural Partnership: (en français seulement)
• Greenhouse Growth Strategy 2020-2025: (en français seulement)

Website: http://www.agr.gc.ca

Published: June 23, 2022