A new “action plan” to improve the competitiveness of Quebec’s pork sector includes protocols for environmental certification on the province’s hog farms.
The Federation des producteurs de porcs du Quebec (FFPQ) rolled out its new business plan Wednesday, outlining the terms of its new marketing agreement with the province’s pork processors, which took effect on Labour Day, as well as how the hog sector aims to address “environmental and social issues.”
“Pork producers have always set themselves apart through new practices such as minimizing odour, improving equipment and resource recovery,” the FPPQ said in a release. “These guidelines are integral to the current action plan.”
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The federation said the protocols of its new certification plan, when released, will be implemented and managed under the supervision of the Bureau national de normalisation du Quebec (BNQ), the province’s standards certification body.
BNQ, which oversees other processing, quality-control and environmental management systems, also already offers HACCP-based food safety certification in other sectors under an agreement with the provincial ag ministry.
FPPQ public affairs advisor Stephanie Fortin said in an interview that the certification plan is in development and will be made available to producers within the next few months.
According to farm journal La Terre de chez nous, the FPPQ’s action plan was accompanied this week by a publicity blitz in most major newspapers.
New products
“Quebec’s pork producers have made major adjustments to their vision of the development of pork production,” agronomist Guy Blanchet said in the FPPQ’s release. “They are determined to continue to invest in order to improve their productivity and provide a product that consumers want.”
To that end, the new marketing agreement between producers and processors, which guarantees a supply of hogs for participating abattoirs and secures pricing for producers, is also the first to create “a direct relationship between producers and abattoirs and the increase of their revenue,” the FPPQ said.
The agreement is the first to commit both producers and processors to an ongoing dialogue and to jointly develop marketing plans and new products, Fortin said.
“Producers are conscious of the fact that some changes have to be introduced to get through the current economic impasse,” FPPQ president Jean-Guy Vincent said in the release. “The new marketing agreement that will thoroughly change our transactions with buyers is a first step confirming our will to change.
“A series of events beyond our control has sent the pork sector into the worst crisis in its history,” he said. “Although this crisis is temporary, it has affected one of the most profitable and competitive agribusinesses in Quebec. But there is a light at the end of the tunnel.”
“Pork producers are convinced that, as a whole, these measures will culminate in a return to profitability as well as a more significant contribution to tax revenue that all Quebecers will benefit from,” the FPPQ said.
As for FPPQ’s work on social issues, the federation noted its operation of Fondation Tirelire, in which it financially supports organizations that allow families in need to become self-reliant in terms of food security. Fondation Tirelire began its fundraising efforts and contributions to hunger relief organizations in 2006.
