The Quebec government has launched a new strategy to support its food processing and manufacturing industries, adding $12 million in new funding for support programs.
The strategy, titled “En marche vers l’excellence” (Working toward excellence), includes a total budget of $35.3 million over three years in three areas: improving productivity; improving food healthfulness and quality; and market development.
The strategy is the result of wide-ranging consultations with experts and business leaders, Agriculture Minister Claude Bechard said in a release Tuesday.
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Programs dealing with food quality and healthfulness include new programs specifically for the meat processing and cheesemaking sectors, along with the province’s program to support improvements in healthfulness and quality.
The province noted the quality improvement program and the program for Quebec abattoirs will also get up to $3.2 million in total federal funding through the Growing Forward ag policy framework.
The cheesemaking and abattoir programs will support work on projects such as the development of new HACCP-based food safety and quality control systems.
Market development programs under the strategy include a program to develop sales of Quebec food products within the province, and another to support development of reserved designations and value-added production.
The latter program supports producers’ efforts to certify and safeguard the authenticity of products and product descriptions that promote a product’s place of origin or its characteristics relating to a specific type of production or processing — for example, certified organic foods or Charlevoix lamb.
The productivity group includes a program to improve management and operations, providing funding for analysis, studies, mentorship and other resources; a program for new structures that would allow commodity groups or regional groups to develop solutions for issues such as transportation, distribution or quality control; a support program for artisanal alcoholic beverage production; and a program to back innovation by funding specialists or consultants to help improve business strategies or handle technical issues.
All the programs offered under the new strategy complement those offered by other provincial departments and agencies, the province said Tuesday.
