Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
My name is Jean‑Pierre Charuest. I'm the chair of the board of directors of the Centre d'innovation agricole. I have with me Anthony Laroche, who is the centre's general manager.
The centre is a non-profit organization that serves as a platform for coordinating technology transfer, innovation and support for training the next generation of farmers in the greater Eastern Townships region of Quebec. We act as a catalyst between the generators of new knowledge—universities, federal research centres, college centres for technology transfer—on the one hand, and the recipients of this knowledge and technologies—agricultural businesses, front line advisers and educational institutions that train the next generation of farmers—on the other hand.
We operate within an exceptional regional ecosystem characterized by the presence of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's Dairy and Swine Research and Development Centre in Sherbrooke, and a number of university faculties at the Université de Sherbrooke and Bishop's University, which offer valuable expertise in agriculture; the Productique Québec college centre for technology transfer, which specializes in digitization, automation and robotics; as well as two post-secondary agricultural training institutions: the Cégep de Sherbrooke and the Centre de formation professionnelle de Coaticook-CRIFA.
This regional ecosystem is distinguished by its focus on sustainable and resilient agriculture, which includes livestock production and perennial forage crops. This integrated approach positions the Eastern Townships as a true living laboratory for agri-food innovation capable of supporting the competitiveness of industries while addressing environmental and socio-economic challenges.
Since 2021, the Centre d'innovation agricole has mobilized nearly 175 agricultural producers in the Eastern Townships to adopt new agricultural practices based on research done in Canada. Our mission is to support producers in adopting and integrating research findings into their farming practices in order to adapt to the changes affecting them.
The Centre d'innovation agricole also acts as the Eastern Townships regional coordinator for the deployment of the Living Lab—Lait carboneutre project, which is led by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and aims to achieve carbon neutrality in the dairy industry. Thanks to our involvement, five dairy producers in the Eastern Townships are contributing to research conducted by researchers at the Quebec City research centre on forage crops, greenhouse gas reduction and sustainable farming practices adapted to modern but profitable dairy production.
Why did we choose perennial forage crops?
Since 2021, the Centre d'innovation agricole has identified the perennial forage crop sector as a strategic pillar in addressing climate change affecting agriculture.
Perennial forage crops are the foundation of dairy and beef production in Canada. These crops provide highly nutritious forage crops rich in effective fibre and protein. They promote the digestive health in ruminants and help cattle reach their full milk production or growth potential. On-farm forage production enhances a farm's food self-sufficiency and reduces businesses' reliance on imported food, which is often expensive and subject to high market volatility.
Perennial forage crops keep soils healthy by protecting them from erosion caused by annual crop rotations and contribute to soil carbon capture through their root systems.
As we can see, climate change is amplifying the weather variability, which causes summer droughts, intense precipitation and more volatile winters.
Perennial plants, thanks to their deep and permanent root systems, are better able to adapt to this climate stress than annual crops. They improve soil water retention and show faster growth recovery after extreme events, which contributes to the stability of agricultural production in a changing climate. Global warming opens up the possibility of agricultural expansion into more northern regions, where perennial crops will play a decisive role.
Therefore, perennial crops play a crucial role—