Climate Change Adaptation Plan: Strawberry-Raspberry and Processing Vegetable Sectors

Context

The past few growing seasons have been especially difficult for many farms in Québec, due to sometimes extreme weather conditions and hazards that many link to climate change. Given the concerns raised by producers, the Québec government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the development of climate change adaptation plans, especially for the sectors most at risk. Both the strawberry and raspberry sector and the processing vegetable sector have agreed to participate in a pilot project aimed at developing an adaptation plan for the 2025–2030 period.

As part of this initiative, the Ministère de l’Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l’Alimentation du Québec (MAPAQ) has mandated the Centre for Social Innovation in Agriculture (CISA) to coordinate and lead the process. CISA will work closely with CETAB+, an organization recognized for its technical expertise and its ability to share and apply knowledge among farming communities. The proposed process aims to bring stakeholders together around a common understanding of climate change impacts, to assess the costs of both action and inaction, and to identify the most effective measures for addressing the most pressing challenges. These priorities will be established collectively, through continuous dialogue among growers, the Québec government, and the experts involved. The initiative will adopt an iterative, collaborative, and inclusive approach, in line with broader government priorities, including the 2020–2030 Sustainable Agriculture Plan.

Project objective

The goal of this research project is to strengthen the capacity of Québec’s farmers to adapt to climate change by developing a coordinated adaptation plan. Launched as a pilot in the strawberry and raspberry sector, and processing vegetable sector, the project is based on a participatory approach. Its objectives are to identify concrete and practical solutions to sector vulnerabilities, determine unmet research needs, assess the costs of both proposed actions and inaction, and identify the stakeholders and partners required for implementation. The project also seeks to document and continuously evaluate the methods applied, with a view to ensuring knowledge transfer and replicability for other production sectors.