What We Cultivated Together: Resilience, Solidarity, and Concrete Ideas
- Published on: 4 June 2025
On May 28 in Montreal, the room was already full by 9:30 a.m.
A group of around sixty people — farmers, young professionals, cooperative workers, researchers, managers, and representatives from NGOs and ministries — gathered for a conference organized by SOCODEVI and IFAD.
They all shared one common goal: to unite efforts in mobilizing more funding for a more resilient agriculture and a future without hunger.
In a context marked by conflict, inflation, climate crisis, and acute food insecurity, strengthening agricultural resilience is no longer optional — it’s urgent.
“In agriculture, uncertainty is the norm. You have to adapt, bounce back, and sometimes start over. That’s what we call resilience.”
Céline Delhaes, dairy and berry farmer, Chair of SOCODEVI’s Board of Directors and Agropur administrator
The Problem in Numbers
Over 700 million people faced hunger in 2023. That’s almost 200 million more than ten years ago. Without a major shift, 600 million people will still be hungry in 2030 — far from SDG 2: Zero Hunger.
Canada, for its part, has shown leadership before. It ranked 5th among agricultural donors from 2010–2014 but has since dropped to 8th. In 2023, Canada’s investments in agriculture totaled USD $320 million — a declining figure.
Investing in agriculture is not just a gesture of solidarity — it’s smart strategy. Every dollar invested in this sector is 2 to 4 times more effective at reducing poverty than investments in other sectors. It is also a direct lever to strengthen resilience against climate, economic, and geopolitical shocks.
A Fundamental Question: How Do We Better Finance Resilience?
Under the generous and energetic facilitation of André Beaudoin, President of the Québec International Solidarity Investment Fund (FISIQ), farmer, and former Secretary General of UPA Développement international, five panelists shared their experiences, convictions — and cautions. The outcome was clear but hopeful: solutions exist, as long as the right financing mechanisms are in place to support them.
- Jean-Yves Drolet (SOCODEVI) presented an agricultural risk management approach developed through international projects, built on listening to cooperative partners and anchoring in local realities. These methods strengthen local capacity to withstand shocks — whether climate-related, economic, or security-driven.
- Annie Flamand of the Financière agricole du Québec (FADQ) outlined how Quebec has built a robust public architecture to cover all types of agricultural risks. The complementarity of its programs is a model of stability.
- Colette Lebel emphasized the strength of the cooperative model as a social safety net for agricultural resilience. This culture of mutual support remains essential to structuring effective responses.
- Jessie Greene (FinDev Canada) stressed the importance of creating investment conditions that are both viable for the private sector and genuinely beneficial to rural communities. Access to credit for rural women and small cooperatives remains a central challenge.
- Christopher Yordy, from Global Affairs Canada, highlighted the importance of reinsurance and investment mechanisms to build resilience in agricultural systems.
Their insights were well received by Brooke Jamison, Head of IFAD’s Americas Liaison Office, and Alain Olivier, Director of Francophonie and International Solidarity at Quebec’s Ministry of International Relations and Francophonie (MRIF), who honored us with their presence.
In her speech, Brooke Jamison underlined the crucial role of partnerships in successful international cooperation. She praised SOCODEVI’s unique contribution to advancing the cooperative model:
“The importance of bringing this knowledge of how to form cooperatives, how to give cooperatives strength — because all over the world this model works and gives smallholder farmers power.” – Brooke Jamison, IFAD Americas Liaison Office
Alain Olivier highlighted Quebec’s historic leadership in cooperative agricultural development:
“Quebec can be proud of its agricultural cooperative model, which has contributed to rural economic development here at home and to the well-being of people and communities. Today, that expertise is recognized globally.”
What Did You Want to Say?
In the afternoon, the discussion shifted to small group circles focused on one simple but critical question:
What needs to change — or be reinforced — for agricultural and food resilience financing to really work?
In groups, ideas flowed. Notes were taken, sketches drawn, post-its stuck. Collective insights emerged and lined the walls:
- Continue: the strength of the cooperative model and solidarity-based insurance mechanisms
- Cease: programs that exclude smaller producers, rigid and bureaucratic approaches
- Change: how risk is defined — and who holds the power to define it
- Create: community-scale financing tools, not just mechanisms for large players
Key Takeaway
Resilience isn’t built alone, in an office, in silos, or in investment towers. It’s built together — in fields, general assemblies, partnerships, public programs, and in the room we give ourselves to innovate.
And that’s exactly what this day enabled: shared perspectives, planted ideas, and a renewed desire to act.
Thanks to everyone who was there — and to all those building, every day, a more just, resilient, and cooperative agricultural future.
For further reflection, we invite you to consult the following:
Cooperative Governance A Driver of a Resilient, Sustainable, and Equitable Agri-Food Future
IFAD: Five decades, countless stories, one unwavering mission