Four provincial farm development programs in Quebec are to pay out to over 5,000 farm businesses a month ahead of schedule.
La Financiere agricole du Quebec (FADQ), the provincial ag lending agency, announced Wednesday it will pay out about $9.1 million to businesses participating in the four programs effective Nov. 1.
FADQ noted it made a similar advance payout effective May 1, sending $6.2 million to 3,364 farm clients under the programs, for which the regular payment dates each year are June 1 and Dec. 1.
The programs covered include:
- Programme Investissement Croissance (PIC), providing grants to farms making investments in productivity and sustainability;
- Programme d’appui au developpement des entreprises agricoles du Quebec (PADEAQ), a program supporting on-farm upgrades to meet new requirements;
- Programme d’appui a la diversification et au developpement regional (PDDR), a regional development and diversification program; and
- Programme de soutien au financement des investissements en matiere de bien-etre animal et d’efficacite energetique (PSFI), which supports on-farm investments in animal welfare and energy efficiency.
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PIC was set up in April this year as a replacement for PADEAQ and PDDR — both of which ended March 31 but are still paying out on projects approved before then. PSFI runs to the end of March 2022 or until its funds are fully committed, whichever comes first.
The second round of early payments is meant to “support farm businesses in the context of the (COVID-19) pandemic,” FADQ said Wednesday.
FADQ noted it has put other exceptional measures in place to help get farmers through pandemic-related cash crunches, including moratoriums of up to six months on loan repayments, and loan guarantees of up to $50,000 to provide working capital to farms up against “temporary problems of liquidity.” — Glacier FarmMedia Network
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