Photo Credit: Palais des congrès de Montréal

Launch of MontréalCulteurs - A program that combines agriculture and urban living!


Wednesday, 20 October 2021 06:28.PM

The Laboratoire sur l'agriculture urbaine (AU/LAB) is proud to announce the launch of MontréalCulteurs, a unique program that offers a combination of consulting, incubation and networking services to facilitate urban agricultural business start-ups in Montréal. The program is designed to meet well documented needs and supports the development of urban farms, whether commercial endeavours or social economy enterprises.

The MontréalCulteurs program will provide assistance and connect property owners and property managers who have an empty space at their disposal—a roof, basement, commercial space, parking lot or vacant lot—with urban agriculture businesses (cooperatives, non-profits or private enterprises) looking for a place to set up an urban farm in order to grow vegetables, mushrooms, micro-sprouts, flowers or grapes, raise insects or fish, or farm bees. Urban agricultural concerns also benefit from three entrepreneurial training streams specializing in urban agriculture, a project incubator, a series of workshops and a diverse program of events (webinars, guided tours and networking opportunities) offered by urban agriculture experts.

"Over the last 10 years, commercial urban agriculture has been growing exponentially. Today, Montréal is a leader in urban agriculture and home to 45 farms, more than any other city in the world. The MontréalCulteurs program will consolidate that leadership position and provide a springboard to keep Montreal going over the next decade." – Jean-Philippe Vermette, Director, Public Policy and Programs, Laboratoire sur l'agriculture urbaine

MontréalCulteurs draws its inspiration from the Parisculteurs, a successful program launched by the city of Paris in 2016 to support a wide range of agricultural projects.

The MontréalCulteurs program was made possible by a partnership with the City of Montréal. It receives funding from the Québec government under the Action-Climat Québec program and meets the objectives of the 2030 Plan for a Green Economy.

MontréalCulteurs also benefits from the know-how of the École des entrepreneurs du Québec's Montréal campus and the expertise of L'ARTERRE, a support and twinning service established in 2016 and coordinated by the Quebec Reference Center for Agriculture and Agri-food (CRAAQ), that contributes to the vitality of Québec communities and the productive use of farmland across the province.

MontréalCulteurs relies on the steadfast confidence of its visibility partners (the Centrale Agricole cooperative, Maison du développement durable and Palais des congrès de Montréal) to help showcase its initiatives.

SOURCE: Palais des congrès de Montréal