Lands of Engagement3/6

Environment and Climate Change

Projects for Environmental Protection and Climate Change Adaptation

We implement many projects focused on the environment and climate change, but also considering the financial aspects and economic growth of agricultural enterprises. The climate crisis, coupled with the income inequality crisis, represents global disruptions for which we are developing integrated strategies. These strategies include climate change mitigation and adaptation measures, as well as economic development.

Profile: Mariama Cissé

Mrs. Mariama Cissé is a farmer and trainer involved in the Dekkal Suuf project in Senegal.
For several years, she has been supporting her community by assisting local farmers with best agricultural practices and composting. To her, this work contributes to the success of family farming and the elimination of hunger.

Mariama also supports women by helping them manage their finances through a community service, a valuable resource for those who do not have access to education.

Her greatest pride lies in elevating the role of women in agriculture. She notes a genuine paradigm shift in the area where she works: women are now more involved in agricultural decisions, and the quality of their work is increasingly recognized.

In addition to improving her own farm, Mariama wishes to continue supporting her community and offering assistance to neighboring villages that seek her help.

Femmes Hwé-Nou (Hwé-Nou Women)

The harmful effects of climate change disproportionately affect women and youth. This is especially true in family farming, where limited access to agroecological techniques and knowledge, fertile land, appropriate equipment, and ecological inputs are significant obstacles to building climate resilience.

To support the women and youth of Benin on this journey, while continuing to assist its partners, UPA Développement international (UPA DI) launched the Femmes Hwé-Nou project (“hwé nou” means "climate" in the Fongbe language), with financial support from the Quebec government under the International Climate Cooperation Program (PCCI), part of the 2030 Plan for a Green Economy.

The project builds on the experience and lessons learned from the Dekkal Suuf project in Senegal by establishing climate advisory clubs, which offer climate-smart and soil health advisory services through participatory and innovative approaches based on experimentation, as well as both collective and individual learning.

An innovative climate adaptation project that will make a difference!

Launching the Circular Economy Approach in Senegal

Following our circular economy experience in Haiti, where over 100,000 meals are served annually by school canteens, the model has been replicated in a school in the municipality of Ngoye, Senegal.

This innovative pilot project aims to promote local agricultural production, improve the daily nutrition of students at Mbokhadane School, and increase access to various green energy sources for women’s income-generating activities.

The project began in early 2023 with the installation of a kitchen space, multiple training sessions, and the distribution of the first school meals.

Access to a solar-powered refrigerator and freezer will enable the women’s group to develop income-generating activities related to food processing.

In November 2023, a launch ceremony took place with over 400 people involved in the project. The event aimed to showcase the circular economy approach and hopefully expand it to other schools across Senegal.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE LAUNCH EVENT

Bringing Life Back to the Land... One Soil Health Advisory Club at a Time!

The Dekkal Suuf project, which aimed to support our Senegalese partners in optimizing soil health management, concluded in March 2024.

This project was implemented within four agricultural professional organizations in the peanut basin and Casamance, under the coordination of the Conseil national de concertation et de coopération des ruraux (CNCR) (National Council for Rural Coordination and Cooperation), and it produced highly promising results:

  • The 80 farmers participating in the soil health advisory clubs have strengthened both their climate-resilient agricultural practices and their professional advisory services.
  • Analyses conducted at the beginning and end of the project on selected plots showed an increase in soil organic matter and yields.

The challenge of soil acidification remains, but farmers now know how to address it.
Two valuable Quebec partners, Coordination Services Conseil (CSC) (Coordination Advisory Services) and VIA Pôle d’expertise en services conseils agricoles (VIA Expertise in Agricultural Advisory Services), along with numerous volunteer experts, supported them in developing this project.

Congratulations to the local Dekkal Suuf teams for their commitment to soil health and the adaptation of family farming to climate change!

This project was carried out with financial support from the Quebec government and aligns with the objectives of the 2030 Plan for a Green Economy.

Dekkal Suuf

“People advance when they trust that change is possible.
We didn’t know it was possible before. Now we know!
We learned about neem leaves, compost, and soil water retention. This knowledge allows us to move a little further forward. Now, there is no one from the Femboul Dekkal Suuf Club who does not understand that the soil is alive.”

– Pape Malick Sow
Technician, Femboul Club

Sustainable agriculture in Bolivia and Peru

2023 marked the relaunch of the Project to Strengthen Economic Services and Capacities in Sustainable Agricultural Production and Advocacy in Peru and Bolivia, funded by the French Development Agency through AgriCord.

In this context, UPA Développement international (UPA DI) is working closely with three agricultural organizations: two coffee cooperatives, who also market citrus and honey, and a social enterprise created by cooperatives producing dried herbs. Together, these three organizations represent 986 small family farms.

In recent years, the impacts of climate change and increasingly high market demands have placed significant pressure on farming families. This project aims to strengthen these organizations to better serve growers, to enhance their production, to seize economic opportunities, to establish research plots, to design new equipment, to provide agroecology training, and ultimately to obtain internationally recognized certifications (e.g., organic certification).

Explore the next section
Economic Services and Governance
Martin Caron
A Word from the President

A famous journalist and writer once said, "To engage is first to attempt to speak to others." And I can attest to that! In the early 1980s, a colleague invited me to a meeting of the group The Future Professionals of Agriculture. It was at that moment that I truly understood how my situation, in many ways, was similar others.

This openness toward others continued over time. I realized, through each of my engagements, that advocating for change and improvement first requires talking about it. This is how we can identify what unites people, their shared challenges, and the potential solutions.

The 100th anniversary of the Union of Agricultural Producers (UPA) in 2024 is an opportunity to celebrate this great sense of community. The 30th anniversary of UPA International Development (UPA DI) in 2023 was equally significant. In both cases, the gathering of individuals driven by an unwavering desire for openness and change has led to great achievements, in Quebec and around the world.

This commitment is invaluable, not only for Quebec's agricultural sector but for every community directly or indirectly impacted by the expertise, willpower, and know-how of our organization. It is with great pride that I have taken on the presidency this year, and I invite you to read and enjoy this year’s report.

Hugo Beauregard-Langelier
A Word from the Secretary-General

Whether we live on sand clay, or snow, there are individuals who make the decision to act in solidarity. This commitment is what has driven UPA International Development (UPA DI) from its creation in 1993 to the present day. Initiated by farmers cultivating the lands of Quebec and later enriched by their sisters and brothers in Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America, and Asia, the dedication of these individuals to international solidarity and family farming has enabled UPA DI to grow. Although UPA DI's past is filled with success stories, the future global context in which we will operate suggests many challenges.

If agriculture has been the foundation of our civilizations, its current trajectory is concerning. Until 2019, living standards, health, and education worldwide showed steady growth. But starting in 2020, these indicators began to decline for the first time in nearly 30 years. It is difficult to judge history as it happens, , but the multiplication of global crises, the rise of inequalities, the erosion of civil liberties, and the expansion of artificial intelligence are all signs of significant upheavals ahead.

Despite this global uncertainty, , the engagement of those who grow our food and seek to live with dignity is essential.  Family-owned businesses remain the dominant model, contributing both to the vitality of rural areas and the food supply of cities. Whether in Europe, Africa, Asia, or Quebec, agricultural families around the world have demonstrated their ability to mobilize and commit to more sustainable food systems. It is within this commitment that UPA DI finds its purpose.

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