Agriculture
In Quebec, various adaptation solutions are available to prevent climate change impacts on agricultural production. These include changes in practices and technologies, decision support tools, training and awareness-raising, and actions by institutions.
Examples of changes in practices and technologies
It has become necessary to modify certain agricultural practices to adapt to the changing climate. Examples of adaptation measures include choosing plant varieties that are more resistant to climate-related hazards or are better adapted to the new temperatures, and adjusting sowing and harvesting schedules. Crop irrigation practices can also be altered. Drip irrigation systems, for example, reduce the amount of water needed.
Cover crops can be a form of adaptation. They help to protect the soil against erosion and nutrient leaching after the harvest of the main crop. They also help keep microorganisms active, replenish soil organic matter, and improve the infiltration of excess water, increasing water retention in the soil during droughts.
What is a cover crop?
Cover cropping refers to any plant or mixture of plants sown after the main crop or while it is growing, and which will not be harvested or destroyed in the fall. This keeps the ground covered during the winter. For example, legumes or radishes are often mixed with grass species.
To reduce the negative impacts of crop pests on agricultural production, integrated pest management can be a good adaptation solution. Without necessarily using pesticides, it is possible to:
Select more resistant varieties
Promote the presence of the pests’ natural enemies, known as beneficial species
Monitor crop pests in the fields
Diversify crops
Heat stress in livestock can be limited by good nutrition and reduced animal density. Better control of the temperature inside buildings, such as by installing ventilation systems, is also a good practice. Planting trees or installing shelters and watering troughs will be necessary for outdoor livestock farming.
In recent years, several living labs have been developed in Quebec (e.g. Racines d’avenir, Lait carboneutre, Bovins pour le climat) as part of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Agricultural Climate Solutions program.
To deal with agro-environmental challenges, these laboratories offer a space for experimentation in real-world conditions, where agricultural producers, researchers and others develop and test new agricultural practices. This fosters innovation, collective learning and the implementation of practical solutions to strengthen the resilience of agricultural systems.
All of the Living Labs mentioned above promote the development and adoption of practices that reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions or sequester carbon. The Racines d’avenir living lab also includes a climate change adaptation component.
Local, diversified production is also an adaptation measure to consider. Many local initiatives of this kind have emerged, such as urban agriculture in individual, collective or community gardens. This can generate several benefits by contributing to the well-being of the population, increasing social cohesion, and supporting urban biodiversity. Community-supported agriculture (CSA), which often takes the form of weekly organic vegetable baskets, also promotes local production and reduces dependence on imports.
Research Project | SAT-ADAPT: A Training and Leadership Initiative in Climate Change Adaptation for Territorial Food Systems
This project aims to address the lack of knowledge and resources for climate change adaptation within territorial food systems in Quebec, with a focus on the co-creation of learning resources to facilitate training and leadership.
Examples of decision support resources
In addition to changes in practices and technologies, various resources exist to support decision-making on the solutions to be implemented to increase the resilience of the agricultural sector. These include:
Climate Portraits offers spatially explicit information for Quebec. It allows for the visualization and analysis of past, present and future climate trends for several climate indicators.
The Hydroclimatic Atlas of Southern Québec is a mapping tool that displays the water regimes of the rivers of southern Quebec, in the current climate and future ones.
SAgE pesticides is a resource that aims to promote judicious, safe pesticide management in Quebec.
The Réseau d’avertissement phytosanitaires (RAP) monitors crop pests in agricultural areas. It informs producers and other stakeholders in the Quebec agri-food sector about the presence and development of crop pests in their region and promotes strategies to deal with them.
Agriclimat | Future-ready farms
Agriclimat is an initiative by Quebec agricultural producers to increase understanding of the impacts of climate change on agriculture and to find adaptation solutions. It is run by the Conseil pour le développement de l’agriculture du Québec and depends on the collaboration of a broad network of partners.
The initiative includes, in particular:
A diagnostic tool for climate change mitigation, developed in collaboration with a network of pilot farms in different regions of Quebec. The diagnosis is done at the farm level by trained advisors. It assesses the farm’s vulnerability to climate risks and produces a carbon balance that takes into account both greenhouse gas emissions and the sequestration capacity of soils and hedgerows. Producers can then target the actions they wish to implement on their farms for climate change adaptation and to improve their carbon footprint.
•Regional agricultural adaptation plans have been developed for 12 regions of Quebec. They list the impacts of climate change on the available production in each region and propose adaptation measures at the scale of agricultural businesses and at the regional scale.
Research Project | Knowledge Transfer on Climate Change and the Results of Such Activities: Case Study of the Agriclimat Project
The aim of this project is to study the knowledge transfer methods implemented by Agriclimat in order to analyze their benefits. The strategies will be used to improve the transfer of knowledge on climate change adaptation done by other organizations in Quebec.
Examples of training and awareness-raising
Various training and awareness initiatives for the agricultural sector have been organized in Quebec in recent years. They facilitate the sharing of knowledge and concrete solutions for long-term adaptation.
One of these initiatives, Agriclimat, has developed several methods for raising awareness and preparing producers, as well as enhancing the skills of the agricultural advisors who support them. These resources include, in particular, fact sheets on climate change by type of production, webinars, and various online training courses. They provide information about the issues, challenges and potential ways to adapt to climate change and reduce GHG emissions in the agricultural sector.
Several online courses are available on the continuing education platform of the Ordre des agronomes du Québec. They concern adaptation and the reduction of GHG emissions for different types of agricultural production, particularly forage production, pig production and beef production.
Examples of actions by institutions
Government agencies can strengthen the adaptive capacity of the various participants in the agriculture industry by supporting research and development activities, disseminating information, and establishing conditions (public policies, laws and regulations, support programs, management and governance methods, etc.) to support climate change adaptation. These actions include:
Among other things, this plan finances various research and development initiatives promoting climate-resilient sustainable agriculture in Quebec.
The 2020-2030 plan for sustainable agriculture supports the Government of Québec’s climate and sustainable development commitments. It helps agricultural businesses accelerate the adoption of better environmental practices in agriculture by 2030. The plan also recognizes and rewards the efforts of those who are already engaged in environmental protection.
The Prime-Vert program helps to improve practices to increase the environmental performance of the agricultural sector. In particular, it supports investment in businesses and the implementation of responsible business practices in order to improve the quality of the environment and to protect human health. It boosts the implementation of priority agro-environmental actions while promoting collaboration between producers.
The 2023-2028 advisory services program aim is to help agricultural and agri-food businesses adapt to the realities of their business environment while promoting the production of healthy food, environmental protection, and animal health and welfare.
La Financière agricole du Québec offers a crop insurance program. It protects producers against losses caused by weather conditions and uncontrollable natural phenomena through individual and group coverage. It aims to reduce financial losses and maintain the economic and financial stability of agricultural businesses.
Agricultural Climate Solutions is a multi-stream program that aims to help develop and implement farming practices to tackle climate change. By developing, evaluating, adopting, and surveying agricultural technologies and practices, ACS is focused on sequestering carbon, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and delivering environmental benefits. For example, it funded the living laboratories Racines d’avenir and Lait carboneutre.
To strengthen the climate resilience of the processing and distribution links in the agri-food chain, several adaptation solutions are conceivable.
For the challenges related to the availability, quality and price of raw materials and food products, here are some examples of possible solutions:
Diversification of supply sources and partners
Implementation of a centralized management system for the raw material supply chain by sector
Development of alternative recipes or processing methods
For risks related to extreme events:
Identification of alternative logistics routes and circuits
Optimization of water resource use or development of a water reserve
Acquisition of generators
Increase in workers’ awareness of risks and adaptation of work schedules
Developing knowledge about the impacts of climate change and adaptation solutions for the food processing and distribution sectors, including their economic dimensions, is essential. This knowledge is key in raising awareness and training people in these two critical links of the supply chain so that they fully integrate these issues into their risk analyses. Through this approach, companies will be able to move from a reactive posture to a preventive stance in implementing adaptation solutions.
It is also important to raise awareness among consumers, who may be led to change their consumption habits. In adaptation, it is important to strengthen the connections and dialogue between the different links in the food supply chain, and to ensure there is government support.
Last update of the page: January 2026.
