I certainly can't disagree with the findings in the OECD's report.
I represent grain farmers, and grain is a crop that serves as the basis for many foods in Quebec. The challenges probably aren't the same for grain production as they are for meat production or grain processing for food products.
Innovation is always a concern for processors. Every year, we call for increased productivity every time we undertake a new Canadian partnership, and develop new programs and policies. There was a lot of emphasis on innovation under the last partnership we undertook in Canada.
Obviously, we realize that public resources aren't where they need to be, and that's one of our concerns. We are feeling the impact of that in the agri-science clusters. Public investment seems to be struggling to keep up with the innovation that's required.
Quebec is unique on that front, though. Since it's a small region, there's less innovation in the private sector because the market is small for developing products. We rely a lot on public support, which plays a very important role when it comes to innovation in regions like eastern Canada, especially Quebec.
Innovation is happening, and we're seeing growth in a number of crops. However, we are starting to hit a ceiling as far as soy and small grains are concerned. We are still seeing growth when it comes to corn, but things are also slowing down somewhat.
The level of growth you talked about is huge. I'm not sure that Quebec's plant-based productivity or output will be able to achieve the level you mentioned. We definitely need to take a giant step forward to increase productivity that much. As I said, we need strong support, a high degree of innovation and technological development.